Hot tub filter cleaning question

[watson524]

Hi there,

I have been using the leisure time 5 minute filter cleaner when we swap filters every 3 months or so. Just the 2 of us usually in the tub, I'm rigorous about testing, no leaves/debris 99.9% of the time, we used to run primary filtration 24 hours and secondary 10 minutes every 6 hours but I'm testing the factory default of 8 hours / day primary and a lower secondary since we noticed when we moved the tub to our new house and got it hooked up in November, or electric bills have gotten pretty high and we think it's the tub in some party.

Anyway, I can't use the spray filter cleaner anymore and I want to go to a soak in a bucket kind. What do you recommend?

Also, I feel like my utility tub rinsing from a faucet while adequate, takes a long time to rinse well so I was also looking at one of those hose handle things that spray "fingers" of water. Worth it or just use a normal garden hose sprayer? Thanks in advance!

 

[CristyW]

I am always trying new filter cleaners, and have not settled on one yet. Most recently I got the Ahh-some brand. Given it's great reputation for purging the lines, I'm assuming it's high quality.

I tried two different types of the hose attachment cleaners. The Aqua Comb (blue with yellow "fingers") and the Aquatix Pro (orange and gray). The Aquatix came with a sprayer that would go inside the filter to supposedly push the gunk outward. However, there is too much plastic structure on the inside of the filters for this to work effectively. Overall the Aquatix was sturdier and felt higher quality, but I slightly preferred the Comb. The water does not come out the little fingers, but you can use them to open up the folds of the filters to get the water in a little better.

At the end of the day, they all felt a little gimmicky and not that much better than a garden hose sprayer with different water pattern settings. What I really prefer is the low setting on the power washer. I'm not sure if this diminishes the life of the filters, but I just love how quickly I can clean them!

 

[watson524]

I am always trying new filter cleaners, and have not settled on one yet. Most recently I got the Ahh-some brand. Given it's great reputation for purging the lines, I'm assuming it's high quality.

I tried two different types of the hose attachment cleaners. The Aqua Comb (blue with yellow "fingers") and the Aquatix Pro (orange and gray). The Aquatix came with a sprayer that would go inside the filter to supposedly push the gunk outward. However, there is too much plastic structure on the inside of the filters for this to work effectively. Overall the Aquatix was sturdier and felt higher quality, but I slightly preferred the Comb. The water does not come out the little fingers, but you can use them to open up the folds of the filters to get the water in a little better.

At the end of the day, they all felt a little gimmicky and not that much better than a garden hose sprayer with different water pattern settings. What I really prefer is the low setting on the power washer. I'm not sure if this diminishes the life of the filters, but I just love how quickly I can clean them!

Thanks for that info! I didn't realize ahh-some made filter cleaner, I'll check that out. I use their biofilm cleaner so I'm with you, it must work pretty well!

Good to know that the sprayers are kind of gimicky, I'll stick with the hose (no pressure washer here... yet, we were just talking about getting one for washing cars and such)

 

[5tan]

I looked into the chemical compositions of several soak-in-a-bucket filter cleaners. See my post at Filter cleaning chemicals - SDS reviews, DIY guidance

As for filter sprayer attachments, the Mikise Filter Flosser and PowerPic Reach are legit well-built all-metal tools that are very powerful with regular tap pressure, excellent for dislodging debris deep in the pleats. You have to dislodge as much debris as possible BEFORE soaking the filter in chemical cleaner.

 

[watson524]

I looked into the chemical compositions of several soak-in-a-bucket filter cleaners. See my post at Filter cleaning chemicals - SDS reviews, DIY guidance

As for filter sprayer attachments, the Mikise Filter Flosser and PowerPic Reach are legit well-built all-metal tools that are very powerful with regular tap pressure, excellent for dislodging debris deep in the pleats. You have to dislodge as much debris as possible BEFORE soaking the filter in chemical cleaner.

thanks for that info! I happen to have a 3# tub of oxi clean sitting around that I'll never use (someone gave it to me ages ago to use for one thing). Did I miss it in your post, I'm wondering how much to put in per gallon and how long you leave filters soak? I have moderately hard water (well) but nothing crazy so I don't know if I'll need the MA Soak too, tho I do have some on hand from balancing the water.

Given the plastic "cage" inside the filters, I'm often wondered how the ones you put down into filter and if they really could make a difference. Since it's just the 2 of us 99.9% of the time and we don't get leaves and such in it, our filters don't tend to get a lot in the pleats.

 

[5tan]

The OxyClean MSDS that I saw showed it was ~50% sodium percarbonate, which is roughly the same % in Eco One and Spa Marvel. Therefore, I would start with the same dilution ratios that they recommend, which is ~2 capfuls (of their bottle caps, both about same size) per ~10L bucket. I would approximate that as 4 tablespoons of a liquid measurement baking tablespoon. I fill my buckets with warm water to hasten the dissolving of the filter cleaning powders, but the heated water may accelerate the offgassing of the peroxide compounds, which may reduce the effective soaking time. Oxyclean instructions say the active ingredient wears off for soaking purposes after ~6 hours, so probably less than that when using warm-hot water.

The filter pleats collect hair and lots of dead skin flakes that you can't easily see. If you power spray your filters over a very white laundry tub sink, you may see.

Pool/spa enzymes can help to break down various contaminants into smaller pieces: some enzyme manufacturers recommend adding directly to the pool/spa water (SpaGuard Natural Spa Enzyme, Orenda CE-SPA, etc), others recommend adding just to the filter area (Eco One Filter Boost), others incorporate the enzymes into their filter soaking compounds. Free chlorine kills enzymes, so there is a balancing act to be employed when using enzymes. Best to add enzymes before your soak and when FC levels are under 5, giving the enzymes a chance to survive and do their work. Then after your soak, you can shock with chlorine to sanitize which also kills off the enzymes. I recall Orenda says that FC >6 will kill the enzymes. Ozone will also kill the enzymes. Some manufacturers say that their enzymes last a month between applications - I don't think that is possible when any sanitizer exists in the water.

 

[Pdxonthego1]

I looked into the chemical compositions of several soak-in-a-bucket filter cleaners. See my post at Filter cleaning chemicals - SDS reviews, DIY guidance

As for filter sprayer attachments, the Mikise Filter Flosser and PowerPic Reach are legit well-built all-metal tools that are very powerful with regular tap pressure, excellent for dislodging debris deep in the pleats. You have to dislodge as much debris as possible BEFORE soaking the filter in chemical cleaner.

Funny we did also buy all the haNile’s and all attachments and we also had reviewed the chemicals Isnide cleaners and have a chemist making us one now … we will let you know.. as for our system ..

Rinse out any mess
soak in Cleaner
rinse out soaps Oils from soak
rinse again
dry
use