Cascade dishwasher detergent

[Tdevito]

Is this ok to clean the filter with

[chem geek]

Yes it is.  See Cleaning a Cartridge Filter where you can use (1) a commercial filter cleaner; or (2) one cup trisodium phosphate (TSP) to five gallons water; or (3) one cup dishwasher detergent to five gallons of water.

[Tman122]

Get yourself some TSP (tri-sodium sulphate) soak them overnight and rinse them completely after.

[av8r]

Get yourself some TSP (tri-sodium sulphate) soak them overnight and rinse them completely after.

TSP is all but banned in the US.  Where are you buying this?

You can buy Cascade Fryer Boil Out which still has Phosphates in it and will actually clean dishes, etc unlike most of the crap detergents available today (for dishwashers)...will also work on filters, etc.

[Tman122]

Get yourself some TSP (tri-sodium sulphate) soak them overnight and rinse them completely after.

TSP is all but banned in the US.  Where are you buying this?

You can buy Cascade Fryer Boil Out which still has Phosphates in it and will actually clean dishes, etc unlike most of the crap detergents available today (for dishwashers)...will also work on filters, etc.

Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, K-Mart, Walmart, others. 8 bucks for enough to soak your filters 3-4 times.

[av8r]

Get yourself some TSP (tri-sodium sulphate) soak them overnight and rinse them completely after.

TSP is all but banned in the US.  Where are you buying this?

You can buy Cascade Fryer Boil Out which still has Phosphates in it and will actually clean dishes, etc unlike most of the crap detergents available today (for dishwashers)...will also work on filters, etc.

Lowes, Menards, Home Depot, K-Mart, Walmart, others. 8 bucks for enough to soak your filters 3-4 times.

Not here in NY.  All they sell is TSP replacement which is not TSP.  When you buy real TSP online they're supposed to ask you to confirm that it's for commercial use only.

[meriflower]

If you use TSP it is considered toxic and bad for the environment so use with care.

[chem geek]

TSP is not "toxic".  That is not why it was removed from standard detergents.  It has been removed because it is a phosphate and if put down the drain and into waterways it can increase algae and phytoplankton growth which when they die and are decomposed by bacteria can use up oxygen and kill fish.  If you are concerned about that, you can add a lanthanum chloride phosphate remover which will precipitate the phosphate as lanthanum phosphate.  Or you could dilute the water and use on your property as a phosphate fertilizer and the organics removed will likely break down by soil bacteria (you can add some acid to it since it's fairly alkaline or high in pH due to the TSP).

Based on this MSDS, TSP product is around 80% trisodium phosphate dodecahydrate so the percentage of phosphate is 80%*(94.9714/380.124) = 20% so one cup in 5 gallons is 20*1/16 = 1.25% phosphate (PO₄^3-) or 1.25%*(141.9445/94.9714) = 1.87% P₂O₅.  Note that phosphorous fertilizer is 0-46-0 so is 46% P₂O₅ equivalent by weight (that is, about twice as concentrated in phosphorous than TSP).  So if you use fertilizer in your garden, you likely use a lot more phosphorous in one application than the amount of TSP you use in cleaning your cartridge filters.  I think some perspective is in order here.

[Tman122]

We always pour it into our gardens and on our plants after cleaning our filters. Does a great job of making them grow good.

[av8r]

TSP is not "toxic".  That is not why it was removed from standard detergents.  It has been removed because it is a phosphate and if put down the drain and into waterways it can increase algae and phytoplankton growth which when they die and are decomposed by bacteria can use up oxygen and kill fish.  If you are concerned about that, you can add a lanthanum chloride phosphate remover which will precipitate the phosphate as lanthanum phosphate.  Or you could dilute the water and use on your property as a phosphate fertilizer and the organics removed will likely break down by soil bacteria (you can add some acid to it since it's fairly alkaline or high in pH due to the TSP).

Based on this MSDS, TSP product is around 80% trisodium phosphate dodecahydrate so the percentage of phosphate is 80%*(94.9714/380.124) = 20% so one cup in 5 gallons is 20*1/16 = 1.25% phosphate (PO₄^3-) or 1.25%*(141.9445/94.9714) = 1.87% P₂O₅.  Note that phosphorous fertilizer is 0-46-0 so is 46% P₂O₅ equivalent by weight (that is, about twice as concentrated in phosphorous than TSP).  So if you use fertilizer in your garden, you likely use a lot more phosphorous in one application than the amount of TSP you use in cleaning your cartridge filters.  I think some perspective is in order here.

Excellent!

Thanks for that.  I enjoy the Chemistry lessons very much.

[ralof3]

Is this ok to clean the filter with

Eh, it is kinda ok, I've used it myself, but honestly anything works. The thing that I found out is that investing in a good detergent is what sealed the deal for me. A good detergents makes it so that it won't go dirty that fast. Still, it depends heavily on how hard your water is, my mom has very hard water and has problems with anything that uses water. So check out some good dishwasher detergents ASAP and you will see the difference.