Filter Care
Keeping your spa's filter clean is a major part of keeping your water clean.  Without a clean filter, none of your other water care efforts will amount to much, since all your spa's water flows through the filter...plus, many costly equipment failures can be avoided just by keeping your filter clean. Here are some filter cleaning tips from Unicel, one of the biggest manufacturers of spa & pool filters.

*Please note* These cleaning instructions are only for spas using chlorine or bromine as their sanitizer.  Spa owners using  biguanide sanitizers (such as Baquacil, Baquaspa, or Softswim) should consult their manufacturer's instructions to clean their filters.

The filter cartridge should be cleaned when the filter canister pressure reaches a maximum of ten pounds per square inch (10 PSI) above the initial system or new cartridge starting pressure.  It would be helpful to mark the new cartridge or system starting pressure on the pressure gauge with a grease pen or nail polish.

    If there is no pressure gauge on the filter, establish a maintenance schedule based on bather load.  For example, if the bather load is light, rinse the cartridge monthly and soak it in cleaning solution every third or fourth month.  If bather load is heavy, rinse the cartridge weekly and soak it monthly.

To clean the filter cartridge:

  1. Remove the cartridge from the filter housing (see manufacturer's instructions).

  2. Rinse the cartridge with a garden hose to remove all loose debris.  Take care to remove all foreign matter from between the pleats.  If the cartridge is heavily soiled, a high pressure nozzle on the garden hose can be used.

  3. To remove oils, soak the cartridge for eight hours or overnight in a solution of either one cup tri-sodium phosphate (T.S.P.) or one cup automatic dishwashing detergent to five gallons of water.

  4. Rinse the cartridge thoroughly before putting it back in the filter housing.

NOTE: To remove calcium or mineral buildup, soak the cartridge in a "separate" solution of one part muriatic acid to twenty parts water until the bubbling stops.  Thoroughly rinse the element before putting it back in the filter housing.

CAUTION: All oils and cleaning solution must be removed from the cartridge before soaking it in the acid solution (see step #3 above).  Failure to remove all oils and cleaning solution before acid soaking may result in a permanent restriction of water flow and inability to reduce differential pressure, thus causing cartridge failure.

Danger: Wear rubber gloves and safety glasses when using acid or chlorine.
Do not mix chlorine or liquid bleach with acid.
Always add acid to water, never water to acid.
 

*PLEASE NOTE* Spa Doc in no way guarantees that these guidelines will achieve the desired results, as every spa has different needs, based on number of bathers, atmospheric conditions, whether or not you have a proper spa cover, whether or not your spa uses an Ozonator, and a variety of other factors.  These are basic guidelines based on Unicel's suggestions and our experience after over twenty years of servicing spas.  Please be certain to carefully follow all instructions and suggestions listed on whatever sanitizing and cleaning products you choose to utilize, in addition to suggestions made by your spa's manufacturer.

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