What you need
Garden hose with a spray nozzle (not a pressure washer), a bucket or soaking container large enough for the cartridge, cartridge cleaner or degreaser, gloves and eye protection.
Step by step
- Turn off the pump and any heater; open the air relief valve to release pressure.
- Remove the cartridge following your filter’s manual.
- Rinse top to bottom at an angle, working between each pleat. Turn the cartridge as you go.
- Inspect for torn fabric, flattened pleats, cracked end caps or a crushed core: time to replace if you see any.
- Soak (every few cleanings or at season’s end): soak in a filter-cleaner solution, usually for several hours or overnight per the product label, to remove body oils, sunscreen and scale.
- Rinse again thoroughly.
- Let it dry if you can: many owners keep a second set to rotate.
- Reinstall, check the O-ring, bleed air and note the new clean pressure.
Mistakes to avoid
- Pressure washers shred the fabric.
- Acid first: acid washing a greasy cartridge locks the oils in. Degrease before any acid treatment.
- Cleaning too often: a slightly dirty cartridge filters finer. Clean on pressure, not on a calendar.
Spa filters
Hot tubs are smaller and hotter, so filters load faster. Rinse every 1-2 weeks and soak monthly. See hot tub filter replacement.
