

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that a filter has to go all the way down to a 0.001-micron pore size before you have a “very high effectiveness in removing viruses.” That said, if you’re in a situation where waterborne viruses are a possibility-for instance, where flooding recently occurred and the sewage systems are backed up-we recommend using purification tablets in conjunction with the Sawyer Mini.

According to the Water Quality Association, viruses can range in size from 0.004 to 0.1 micron. The larger and typically more expensive Survivor Filter, which we also tested, has a smaller, 0.05-micron filter that can catch some viruses but not all. Like most personal filters, it does not filter out waterborne viruses, but those are rare in the US and are typically found only in sewage-infected water. coli, Salmonella, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and the cause of cholera. The Mini has a 0.1-micron filter that removes bacteria and protozoa such as E.
