How to Clean Paper Pool Filter Cartridges
We have the vinyl above ground pool, with the filter unit that uses fanfold filter cartridges. The cost is $6 dollars in our town for one, two can be bought for $10. If you can buy them for the entire pool season they can be less expensive, per filter.
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Things You'll Need
- Dish soap, Dawn is a good one for this.
- A container that just barely holds the cartridge, so you can cover the cartridge entirely in water. Either on it's side or standing up.
Instructions
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When you remove the filter IMMEDIATELY go to the sink and use your dish soap and water. Suds up the folds and use a brush to get into the folds with several passes down the valleys of the folds. I have used extra sudsy water for this as well. The main thing about thick suds is that they will get into the folds and not run off.
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Rinse well with hot water then repeat the process. You will see most of the residue come out of the filter. Suds up a third time and allow to sit for a few minutes in your container of hot water. Totally submerged for an hour in hot water is even better. Finally rinse well, while brushing. and you will see that over 80% of the debris has been removed.
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After rinsing well, and if you have time, add about 1/2 cup of bleach to a gallon of hot water, soak filter in the solution, maybe 1/2 hour or more to help remove more of the soap residue and kill microorganisms. Brush well. Rinse well and drain.
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Let drain, to remove most of the water for a while, then set in the sun to dry and further freshen the filter.
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Tips & Warnings
Always check the flow of your filter each day, when the flow is diminished, swap filters. No use in burning watts if the filter is not working well. Lot's of bodies in the pool and the suntan oils and sunscreen will plug the filters quickly. When you use SOME pool chemicals especially Algaecide, the filter will become uncleanable.
Never use any appliance or chemical unless you have read and understand the manufacturer's instructions. Cleaning filters helps to get a little more value for your money and helps to keep a little more out of the landfills. Filters will stain and diminish capacity with each cleaning, after 4 cleanings or so, discard and start with a new filter.
