Best practices for maintaining/cleaning your cartridge pool filter

LAKE WORTH, Fla. - Aug. 13, 2013 - PRLog -- I've been maintaining my own swimming pool for over 10 years now.  I've also been operating a website, www.allpoolfilters4less.com, for the past four years.  Operating my website, I have gained tremendous knowledge in working daily with suppliers, tech support at manufacturer's, as well as customers. 

I get questions from so many customers about their pool filters.  The most frequently asked questions are, " When should I clean my cartridge pool filters?" and "How long should the filters last?".

It took a while, but I have found some best practices to go by that should answer these questions.

When should I clean my cartridge pool filters?  The answer to this question I have found is pretty clear and straight forward.  Cartridge pool filters have a pressure gauge on them.  When you put in new cartridges for the first time, note the pressure reading.  For most pool filters that normal reading will be 8 to 12 psi.  When the pressure gauge goes up an addition 8 to 10 psi, that is an indication that your cartridges are becoming blocked with debris and need to be hosed off.  Plant debris from the yard, algae, insects, body oils, and suntan lotion are just a few of the things that can clog your filter.  To clean your filter it is recommended that you do NOT use a pressure cleaner since most cartridges can be damaged by this type of cleaning.  Some of the larger Sta-Rite cartridges are made of much more durable material and I have heard from several customers that they pressure wash them and they become like brand new again.  I haven't done this, so I can't recommend doing it at this time.  Spraying your cartridge thoroughly with a garden hose will work fine.  Just place your thumb on the end of the hose to create a pressure spray and spray the cartridge starting from the top and work your way down.  You will see it get clean and the debris falling out.

Once you have completed rinsing off the filter cartridge you can replace it back in the filter.  Close up the unit and start up your pump again.  At this time, note the pressure reading on the pressure gauge.  It should go back down to the range that you noted when you first put them in brand new (8 to 12 psi).  In the event you don't have a working pressure gauge on your filter the easiest way to determine that it's time to clean your cartridges is to observe the waterflow in the pool.  If the pool jets are much slower than normal or your automatic pool cleaner has slowed down or stopped working, these are signs that the filter is now restricting the water flow due to a clogged filter.

If you have an algae problem in your pool, this is the worst culprit for clogging cartridge pool filters.  You'll find rinsing them off doesn't do the trick.  So, if you notice that shortly after rinsing your cartridge filters, that the pressure quickly goes up again and the water flow quickly slows down again then you need to take some additional steps.

A good way to extend the life of seriously clogged filters involves the following:

1.  Get a 5 gallon bucket

2.  Pour 1 part pool muriatic acid and 20 parts water in the bucket to fill it about half way.

3.  Submerge the filter into the mixture for about 2 minutes.  You may see some bubbling.  At a minimum you should see the water get dirty!

4.  Remove the cartridge and turn it upside down to submerge the other half of the cartridge and let it soak for about 2 minutes.

5.  Rinse off thoroughly with a hose and let dry in the sun for about an hour.

6.  Reinsert in the pool filter.  You should see a noticeable improvement in the waterflow and pressure gauge.

 

Please note, best practices for me is to have 2 sets of cartridge filters so that after I clean them in step 5 above I just leave them out to dry and put in the other filters I have already cleaned and ready to pop in.

When should I replace my cartridge filters?  This is tricky.  There are so many factors that contribute to the lifespan of a cartridge filter such as the chemical balance maintained in the pool, algae, usage, plant debris, and more.  I've got a chocolate labrador retriever that loves to swim in the pool.  The hair from him is brutal.  For me, my cartridges only last 6 months.  Most manufacturer's state that their cartridges should last 1-2 years depending on the above factors.  The best recommendation I can give you regarding when to replace your pool filter cartridges is to replace them whenever cleaning them no longer keeps them clean for at least 2 weeks.  If you have to keep cleaning them every day, every few days, or even every week, then the effort for you to clean them that frequently should not be worth your time anymore.  That's when you should go and buy yourself some new ones.

I hope you find this information helpful.  And if you have any questions or need some new cartridge pool filters come visit me at www.allpoolfilters4less.com.  To help you with your replacement cartridge filters I'd like to offer you a discount.  Just enter the value "TRYUS05" in the Discount Code field during Check Out to receive your discount off our already great low prices.