Filter cleaners

[blakley33]

I was talking with my dealer about getting some filter cleaner to soak my filters in. Due to a fire at my dealers store they will not be open for about another two weeks and I want to support my dealer and store and buy all chemicals from them.
He said that I could use simple green and mix with water and soak over night then run the filters through the dishwasher with no soap to clean them out good.
Has anyone done this and is there any better ideas for cleaning the filters without using the actual filter cleaning solution. I am wanting to clean them today.
Once the store opens back up I will buy some cleaner but any ideas for now?

[Drewski]

I'm thinking about trying that approach myself, just to see if Simple Green would work in this role.

I've found Simple Green to be an INCREDIBLE cleaner, especially on gunk and greasy stuff, essentially the same stuff in filters.  My only caution would be that it WILL foam (probably terribly) if you don't wash all if it out. I don't know how effective a dishwasher would be at doing this. I can usually tell using a hose if what's remaining on the filters will foam or not, BEFORE putting them back in the tub....

Try it and tell us what happens!

Thanks...

Drewski

[blakley33]

Thanks for the info.
I will give this a try and post later the results.

[TN__HOT_TUB]

Yeah,
Be the guniea pig.  I'm curious too.  Let us know how it goes.

[anne]

He said that I could use simple green and mix with water and soak over night then run the filters through the dishwasher with no soap to clean them out good.

I thought that only Tri-X filters, not normal pleated filters, could go in the dishwasher?

[drprwnap]

Ok guys, I've tried the simple green thing. I mixed a weak solution (so as not to cause any damage). It worked allright.  When the bottle of cleaner I bought from my dealer runs out, I think I will use the simple green.  The stuff from the dealer works good, but caused copious amounts of foam if not rinsed VERY good.  I think I'll try a little stronger solution this time.

drprwnap  

[blakley33]

I used two 16 oz cup fulls of simple green to about 4 gallons of water. Soaked for about 10 hrs and now getting ready to get them out of dishwasher.
If the pleated filters are not supposed to go into dishwasher then my dealer will be giving me two new ones because he is the one who told me to do it.
When I took them out of the simple green I hosed them off very well, about 5-7 min each to make sure to get as much of the suds out as possible, Then into dishwasher without soap of course.
Will be putting them into tub in about 20 min.
Will post how they seem to do.

Thanks.

[uncommonlytasty]

I have been using a degreaser named Purple Power, which I found at the local automotive store.  It is 100 percent biodegradable so I believe that it rinses off easier.  I pre rinse the filter and then soak it for a day or two.  It does not work quite as well as the Leisure Time filter clean, but at about $4 a gallon you can just use more.   I have also used a week solution of muriatic acid and water to clean the filter after it became covered with rust.  After soaking for two days the filter looked new again.  That stuff is very nasty though.

[Cola]

TSP works great and it's cheap.  Let the filters dry out when you're done rinsing to let the fibers tighten up before you install them.
Steve

[shabba34]

TSP works great and it's cheap.  Let the filters dry out when your done rinsing to let the fibers tighten up before you install them.
Steve

A lot of my customers have used TSP (Tri Sodium Phosphate) with good results as well.

[blakley33]

Well from what I can tell the Simple green worked very well. I was worried about the water foaming once I put the filters back in but there was none.
I will continue to use simple green.
I paid $12.99 for 1 gallon of simple green and I will be able to clean both of my filters 3x each, so around 4.50 per cleaning once you include tax.
Just make sure that after soaking you use your hose and rinse filters very good until you see no suds coming out then put in dishwasher with no soap and run on regular cycle with hot water.

[Snowbird]

After hosing the used filters down, I soak them overnight in in a weak solution of water and chlorox.  Then I rinse them, let them air dry and store them in a sealed container until the next swap out.  So far, the only ill-effect is that the blue plastic gets a little discolored.

[Chas]

But be sure you are getting TSP. There is a product available in grocery stores which comes in a red/orange box. It has the logo in a tepee, "TsP." Read the label, it is not TSP, it says it is formulated similarly.

To buy TSP I have to go to a paint store, or the paint department at a large home center.

Be berrrryyyy careful with real TSP

[Bonibelle]

I use Spaguard Cleaner and Degreaser that my dealer provided. I rinse the filters first with my hose and then I wash them in the shower with really hot water, apply the degreaser and let them stand for a little while until the purple has absorbed into  the pleats. Then I soak them in real hot water over night and rinse them, again using hot water. I think the hot water is the ticket for getting all of the oils out and removing all the detergent.
So far, no foam and nice clean filters. I let them dry before storing them to switch out the next month. Before I reinstall them into the tub, I soak them briefly in a little bit of bromine, because they dry so slow, I don't want to add any bioburden from the filters themselves. So far this has worked real well for me.