Have any of you not taken the carttridge filter out of your hiker filter and had it stink like the devil. If so what did you do. I ran Bleach through mine and it still stunk. I bought a new one but wonder what other people do? Do you take it out each time you get home and let it dry?
Brown Bear
Seems you have a case of locker room filter. What we do after a hike, and also in town on longer trips every week, is dissasemble the whole thing and stick it all, hoses and everything into a bucket(or sink) with a gallon of water and a strong dose of bleach (a tablespoon or two) and let it sit for a while. If the cartridge wasn’t too dirty and it still passed water put it back together and then pump the bleach solution through it for a few quarts worth. Now switch to clean water and pump a gallon through it to wash out the bleach. Rinse everything well. Take it all apart again and air dry it. Leave the filter out until its dry. Don’t forget to lube the o-rings on the pump plunger and the filter with silicone paste. You should have gotten a small 1/4 oz tube with the new filter. Save a dab for later. This maintenance should stop the cooties from growing. Some of the funk is from your hands if the outside of the pump smells like arm pit.:x
Bushwhack
I have experienced the same problem after leaving the filter canister stored assembled for a period of time. The filter never seems to dry completely and mildew always forms after a couple of days. After recieving a new filter from Pur (now Katadyn) I always rinse with a bleach solution but after drying I store the cannister and filter seperately. This has solved the problem and I have never had problems after using this method.
karo
I used the same cartridge from Damascus to Katahdin and never had any problems. Whenever I got into town I always made sure to disassemble my filter and rinse it out with hot water and soap. When I got home I soaked all the components in hot water and bleach and it all the hoses looking spiffy and clean again and smelling decent.
Rowboat