What works to clean a cartridge filter?

[DennyB65]

Waterbear, Just to let you know I read this post some time ago and incorporated all of your suggestions for cart cleaning. Needless to say, I have had great success! I used to throw away a 100.00 cart once a year. My oldest cart is now 2 years old and going strong! Thanks for the solid advice, it is always appreciated.

[waterbear]

Good to hear! Validation is always nice to get!

[kc101]

Great cleaning tips. Thanks for the info.

I've read that a cart will usually last 2-3 years. Will these cleaning tips extend the life of the cart or can I plan on replacing them in 2-3 years.

[chem geek]

I think cartridge life depends a lot on how heavily it is used (i.e. how much debris it gets and how often it needs to be cleaned). I've got on over-sized 4-cartridge filter that I only need to clean once a year. It's a pain to clean, but is cleaned less frequently. I was able to go around 6 years before replacing the cartridges and that was only because of some broken straps which I suppose I could have glued back together.

My pool has a mostly opaque electric safety cover so the pool does not get that dirty, though the cartridges certainly are filled with dirt, oils (lotions) and cedar needles after a season.

I would think that you could get more than 2-3 years out of a cartridge.

[CarlD]

My pool has a mostly opaque electric safety cover so the pool does not get that dirty, though the cartridges certainly are filled with dirt, oils (lotions) and cedar needles after a season.

Richard,
Why do you add cedar needles to your pool???

[waterbear]

Richard,
Why do you add cedar needles to your pool???

So his cartridges will have something to do!
They get lazy if you don't make them work!

[chem geek]

We actually cut down our cedar tree earlier this year because we had had enough of clearing off the needles from the pool cover every time we wanted to open the pool. It was heartbreaking since it was a nice tree otherwise and gave definition to the yard (we have other trees, so it's not like it looks totally barren now) but it was directly in the wind path to dump right onto the pool. So going forward, there should be even less junk in the filter -- at least no cedar needles.

Another bonus is that our solar panels get some more sun late in the day now. The crow that spent time in the cedar has moved to the Sycamore and other birds are now exploring the Jacaranda so everyone is learning to deal with the missing tree. At least we haven't seen any retaliatory droppings to spite us!