Deep Clean your DE filters!

kchinger

Well-known member
Aug 20, 2017
325
Southeast PA
This was at least 5 seasons (that's how many I've had and I never got around to deep cleaning it). Grids cleaned up relatively well but I'm gonna acid soak them tomorrow just to get whatever stains and stuff I can get off. Might as well at this point. Grids seem to be in good shape. I guess I'll at least try to do it every other year from now on, lol.

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This was at least 5 seasons (that's how many I've had and I never got around to deep cleaning it). Grids cleaned up relatively well but I'm gonna acid soak them tomorrow just to get whatever stains and stuff I can get off. Might as well at this point. Grids seem to be in good shape. I guess I'll at least try to do it every other year from now on, lol.

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FIRST, remove any and all oils that may be on the grids before applying acid. Soak in a commercial filter cleaner. Any oil that may be on the will turned into an irremovable coating and ruin the grids.
 
FIRST, remove any and all oils that may be on the grids before applying acid. Soak in a commercial filter cleaner. Any oil that may be on the will turned into an irremovable coating and ruin the grids.
Good to know. Thanks.

So I'll grab some of that when I get extra acid and a bigger trash can tomorrow.

How do you know when they're dirty enough to clean? Most of it looks pretty white but some sections are still brown after spraying with the hose. Maybe if there's downside to the acid I'm better off just tossing them back in?
 
Cleaned, acid cleaned, back together. Probably buy new grids for next time since a few had broken ribs in a few places. Nothing major. When I was putting the manifold on before putting it back in the tank it seemed one grid kept falling out, but once it was in the tank everything tightened up a bit and I got some more turns on the wing nuts and it seems good.

Still have a tiny pinhole leak below the clamp that was there before I started. I thought the new o-ring would fix it but it might be in the actual metal. I saw a bit of a bend in the lower tank there. Whatever. It's small. Maybe I could epoxy it or something.
 
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