Cleaning Pool Filters

You must clean your filters routinely.

Pool filters are traditionally cartridges made of a microfiber paper. Although you could easily just replace the cartridge with a new one, you would find out quickly that the costs would add up quickly since pool filter maintenance is usually a weekly task during the summer months. You can clean the filter several times before you must replace it. This will ultimately save you money, even if it does take time away from actually swimming in your pool.

Things You'll Need

• Hose water
• Filter cleaner

Instructions

1. Clean the filter when the pressure gauge on the filter canister increases 10 lbs. per square inch over the initial installation reading. For example, if your pool usually runs at 30 psi, clean the filter when it reaches 40 psi.

2. Remove the cartridge from the pool canister per the manufacturer's instruction manual. There are countless models on the market and they all use a slightly different process. In most cases, you must turn off the filter, release the lid from the canister and then pull the cartridge out of the canister.

3. Hose off the filter with a hose equipped with a straight-flow nozzle. Hold the nozzle at a 45-degree angle downward on the face of the cartridge. Hose off the cartridge inside and outside working your way down. This will flush the dirt downward and out of the cartridge.

4. Soak the pool filter cartridge in a 5-gallon bucket of water and pool filter cleaner for an hour. If excessively dirty or covered with algae, soak it up to five hours or until the filter appears to be clean. The ratio of water to cleaner depends on the brand of cleaner you use. Follow the directions on the bottle for the mixing ratio.

5. Hose off the filter in the same manner as you did in step 3.

6. Reinstall the filter in the canister.

References

• Backyard City Pools: Filter Cartridges Cleaning Instructions