Re: What do you use to clean your cartridge filter?
Here is how to correctly clean a cartridge filter with a chlorine or bromine pool. (biguinide is a different story...and a LOT more work)
1. hose it off (setting the nozzle on your garden hose to a strong stream...don't use a pressure washer, it can rip the filter material) from top to bottom making sure to get in between the pleats and flush everything out. Try to do this from the inside also if your cart does not have a rigid tube in the middle and the pleats are exposed. A new pool might need hosing off frequently. Once it settles down you should not see a big rise in pressure for a few months if the filter was sized correctly (which means somewhat oversized). If the pressure has not gone up very much withing a month of the last cleaning then hose it off monthly BEFORE the cleaning becomes a big chore.
2. Oils and such do build up on the filter and are best removed by soaking overnight in a solution of either TSP (trisodium phosphate....the real stuff, not the TSP substitute that is sold in many places now since phosphates were banned) or powdered electric dishwasher detergent (Cascade or Electrosol). With either the amount to use is 1 cup per 5 gallons of water. You want to soak the cartridge in a large plastic garbage can big enough to submerge it in. If you cant find one big enough you will have to soak one end and then turn it over and soak the other end. Soak the cartridge for 24 hours and then hose it off well. It's a good idea to have a second cartridge so you can put it in the filter while one is soaking and then alternate them with each cleaning. Under normal use you only need to soak once or at the most twice a year.
3. On to acid washing.....IF YOU DO NOT USE A DEGREASER FIRST (step 2 above) THEN ACID WASHING WILL CAUSE ALL THE OILS AND STUFF TO HARDEN AND RUIN THE CARTRIDGE AND SHORTEN IT'S LIFE! Only acid wash the cart if there are scale deposits on it. They will look like a white to yellowish powdery substance on the filter. To acid wash soak the cart in a solution of 1 cup muriatic acid to each 5 quarts of water for an hour or two until all fizzing and bubbling has stopped then rinse the cart off well with the hose. If you are not sure if the deposits on your cart are scale test them with a little diluted acid. If they fizz they are scale and you need to acid wash.
The procedure sound like it is a lot more work than it really is.....for normal maintenance you will just hose it off once a month and soak it and maybe acid wash it once a year. With proper care a cart should be good for 4-5 years. If you have 2 and swap them out at each cleaning they will last longer.
A new pool might have a lot of calcium building up on the filter so you might need to soak in degreaser and acid wash more often until your plaster cures.
Here is a link on cartridge cleaning from the Unicel website...They are one of the largest manufacturer of both OEM and replacement cartridges.
http://www.unicelfilters.com/pool_ow...rine_users.asp
Also, here is a link to a handy $15 gadget that makes filter cleaning much easier....It's cut my cleaning time way down and the cart get much cleaner than with a garden hose nozzle! Check your local pool store to see if they carry it! (I have no affiliation with this company at all but I use a few of their products and they work!)
http://www.sunpoolproducts.com/FilterCleaningWand.html
Last edited by waterbear; 07-06-2006 at 11:22 PM.
Retired pool store and commercial pool maintenance guy.
just thought I'd ask - said a cleaner because acid will clean off plaster dust but not oils, lotions, etc.) and acid will reduce the life of the filter, plus it's "dangerous". 
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