No need for an answer or solution here (although this might be a DataTables bug).
We had a problem in Internet Explorer where users could clear the search box by clicking the "X" in the search box, but the filter was not cleared in the DataTable. That is, after clicking the "X", the filtered results remained visible in the DataTable.
The following JavaScript solved the problem for us, and may be helpful for others. The script is executed within the document.ready function. The offsetX value was determined by observing the leftmost value where the user could successfully click the "X", and the value might need to be adjusted per other environments.
Browser: Internet Explorer 11
DataTables version: 1.10.12
//This event handler is a hack for Internet Explorer.
//In Chrome, the filter is cleared automatically when user clicks "X" in the search box.
//(Maybe this is because the click event is exposed in Chrome for this user action, and
//is not exposed in Internet Explorer. Or, maybe it's related to the fact that
//the DataTables search box is rendered as input type="search" in Chrome but rendered as
//input type="text" in Internet Explorer.)
$('#dataGrid_filter input[type=text]').mouseup(function (e) {
if (e.offsetX > 137) {
var tbl = $("#dataGrid").DataTable();
tbl.search('').columns().search('').draw();
}
});