Konstantine, you crack me up. PocketGroove, honestly, I have found the sharp bevel tip of my syringe to be helpful. I tried the blunt tip needles, but they kept pushing down the batting - compressing it. With the sharp, bevel tip needle, it slips cleanly in, without compressing the wicking material. Works for me. I have been using the syringe method for a few weeks now and I honestly find it to be sooooooooo much easier and faster and less wasteful than any other method I've tried. I scored my luer lock syringe from my diabetic brother in law and my 18ga bevel tip needles from my Vet!
Here's my method:
1.) Pop the battery end of the carto into a "bootie" to catch any overflow. I leave a gap for the juice to collect in.
2.) Remove endcap (duh).
3.) Gently insert the needle into tip of juice bottle, right through the dropper cap, turn it upside down (it doesn't leak) and pull about 1cc into the syringe.
4.) Gently slide the needle (bevel towards the wall) between the batting and the outside wall of the carto until it hits bottom.
5.) Slowly depress the plunger, while simultaneously slowly pulling the needle out (thereby distributing the juice better).
6.) Repeat on the opposite side, injecting about 1/2 cc each side.
7.) Suck some isopropyl alcohol into the syringe and slush it in and out a few times, to clean it, then blow it out by depressing the plunger several times until it stops spitting alcohol, wipe it off and put the cap back on.
8.) If needed, top the carto off with a few drops of juice, until you get that satisfying "slushie" look.
9.) Blow out air hole.
10.) Clean up threads, outside of carto & end cap (if refilling) with high-strength isopropyl alcohol (sometimes, I use alcohol pads, sometimes I use dipped Q-tips).
11.) Return any overflow in the bootie to the bottle (you're going to have to take the dropper cap off for this maneuver, unless you suck it back up with the syringe and squirt it back in - in which case, you should wait to clean your syringe).
12.) Screw on a fresh battery and enjoy!
So, I broke it down into 12 frickin' steps, but it seriously only takes a couple minutes. It's way easy and I use the same needle over and over. This method gets an A++ for ease and efficiency. My cartos are lasting longer too! Bonus!
Crisis Averted. 
