Filter cartridge cleaning???

[mariner09]

I have a 31 x 15 IG pool, using SoftSwim, and it has filter cartridges.

Is there any guideline for how often a good filter needs cleaning? I've found that I need to power-wash mine every 2 days. It's quick and easy, so I don't really mind, but I'm wondering if that's normal.

Will the cartridges stay less gummed up with a chlorine pool than a baquasil pool?

[prh129]

Usually a rise in pressure of about 8 psi is an indication that the filter needs to be cleaned. In the last two and a half months, I have not seen the pressure rise on my filter but I opened it up once after the first month and hosed it down using a regular hose nozzle and again the following month. I use a scum sock which I usually rinse out every day to wash out the pollen and other junk. It takes two minutes and it's a lot less work than cleaning the filter, but even that isn't bad. It's probably easier to clean the filter more often than to wait until it needs to be cleaned but every two days seems extreme. I'm using chlorine by the way.

Peter

[waterbear]

I have a 31 x 15 IG pool, using SoftSwim, and it has filter cartridges.

Is there any guideline for how often a good filter needs cleaning?
With biguinide (SoftSwim) you need to soak your cartridge montly and hose it off weekly or more often. Be sure and use a filter soak that is ok for biguinide...not all of them are!
I've found that I need to power-wash mine every 2 days.
A pressure washer can damage a cartridge. Cartridge manufacturers recommend using a garden hose with a nozzle set to full stream to clean them.
It's quick and easy, so I don't really mind, but I'm wondering if that's normal.
With biguinide, unfortunatly yes!
Will the cartridges stay less gummed up with a chlorine pool than a baquasil pool?
Yes, it will probably need hosing off monthly and soaking yearly and should last about 5 years. With biguinide you should replace the cartridge yearly.

Hope this helps.

[prh129]

When I do clean the filter, there is just dirt, pollen and some small fragments that manage to get through the skimmer and pump baskets. I wouldn't say my filter gets "gummed up" using chlorine.

Peter

[waterbear]

Biguinide doesn't burn up (oxidize) bacteria but causes them to explode and that is the junk you see in the filter. A lot of people refer to is as Baquagoo! This doesn't happen with either chlorine or bromine.

[cwstnsko]

I have a 13,500 gallon IG pool with SWCG and Lowzone. I have a 420 sq ft Pentair cartridge filter. I clean the cartridges once a year even though I never see more than a few psi pressure increase. When I clean them, there is some dirt and this year, some blue scales from my old solar cover. There's a little staining on the cartridges, but no scale and they clean up nice. I haven't had to soak them yet in anything, just hose them down. I figure this may be the one benefit I get from the Lowzone. I think it burns up a lot of the junk that would build up in the filter if I didn't have the lowzone.

[mariner09]

The only pressure guage I have is on the pressure return pipe where I connect the Ray-Vac. It's a Foxx Pool.

I guage the cleaning based on the sound of the pump and qty of air in the basket area on the pump.

When the filters get clogged, return side pressure decreases and air increases.

You learn a lot in the first few weeks with a new pool.