Great video! I'm so glad someone is recommending using store bought cleaners! The prices for pool/ hot tub chemicals has gone through the roof and has gotten way out of hand. Most are basic chemicals/elements/enzymes and they should never cost what they do today! We as a community have got to find other ways to maintain our pools/spas and stop letting them price gouge us by purchasing their products!
By letting the filters dry out before cleaning them he is allowing the residue to interact with air - this promotes scale formation that clog the filter pores and shortened their service life - better to take them directly from the hot tub into the detergent soak without drying. A spray degreaser such as Purple Power (phosphate free) gets the filters just as clean and requires only 10 minutes.
I've been cleaning my filters this way for about a year now. It's very economical and works just as well as using the expensive spa cleaners. I have extra filters so when I soak them, I give them 24 hrs. I did just recently add one more step to this process. I found that blowing air into the filter helps dislodge more dirt and grime and makes them work a little better.
I rinse the filter often, but for a deep clean I always use a half litre or so of pool chlorine mixed into a bucket of water. Let it soak for a day and then a thorough rinse. My filters last for years and are still clean and white. I stopped letting the filter dry out because they don't work as well after. Hot tub water sparkling clear, never had a problem doing it this way.
Thanks for good info about filter-cleaning, but how about the water tubes inside, Lots of grease and calcium. My spa is 1500 liter H2O, what is the best way ??? Thanx ....
You probably need to pipe flush. You should do it every single time you change your water, but most spa owners have never heard of it - YUCK! Pipe flush ua-cam.com/video/ueoUp4BfFIo/v-deo.html
The real answer is to have multiple filters for each client. We have the all labeled and would bring them back to the shop for cleaning. Next trip out to that tub for service you have the clean filters with you. Gets your clients buying more filters from you, and you spend less time standing around on site.
went to dollar tree and bought a bottle of "awesome" cleaner....sprayed filter good.....rinsed well.... brown water down the drain....filter came out white as snow...2 minutes....$1...you're welcome!
I've thrown mine in a washing machine a couple of times with no detergent and they come out pretty well....They aren't that expensive so I just put new ones in pretty often....
So my intex spa has 2 filters but the second one seems to just be for show. It seems no water gets sucked that way so i swap them ever time i get in the clean the dirty one either with the fan setting on the hose or the kitchen sink sprayer. I will try a once a week soak from no one. See if they last longer
although I am not familiar with that brand, many tubs have 2 separate pumps and a filter for each pump. if you only use one set of jets, it is likely that the watter only flows through one filter. you could also have a line blockage.
Anyone know how long the filters can soak in detergent for? I want to rotate 2 filters. Pull one out and place in a bucket with a lid, and let it soak for 3-4 weeks while using a different filter. Then swap out at each change.
Hi Steve. Here in Spain I cannot find granular DISHWASHER... Its always liquid or tabs format... Can I use granular CLOTHES detergent (also phosphate free) instead??
What about a product called "simple green" which is a phosphate free degreaser that many pool and spa technicians use. It is a household product so it does not have that "luxury tax" associated with anything specific to pools and spas. Simple green might be a good choice for you. I have not used liquid or laundry...you would think that either would be OK to use, but I just can not say for sure because I have never tried.
So it may be confirmation bias, but when I read on the filter cleaner it said "enzymes to break down body oils and grime" I thought - that's what dishwasher detergent does. Thanks for the back up.
Simple green is a non-foaming degreaser which is phosphate free...so yes, this works just fine. Just a little more expensive than the automatic dishwasher detergent.
It is not, in the same way it would not be OK to use that soap in your dishwasher or washing machine. The dishwasher soap is specifically formulated to NOT promote bubbles...something that liquid dishsoap can not say. If yo use liquid and fail to rinse 100% of the soap off, which is almost guaranteed as some will hide in the pleats of the filter, your spa will turn into a bubble making factory and that is why you need to use granular dishwasher detergent.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve "liquid DISHWATER soap" is made for dishwashers and I use it all the time in my dishwasher. In light of that, would you care to rethink your answer?
i may use my hot tub every other day but I have always cleaned my filters once a week and change the water out completely with a tub scrub down every 3 months
only because the filters are super disgusting and full of pubes and skin and ass sweat. Some people do clean their filters that way. The rest of us silently judge them.
What is a good indicator that you have rinsed the filter enough if you use this method? I got the detergent and just about ready to clean my first filter, but I envision not getting the soap out enough and causing it foam the hot tub.
Phosphates are a food source for algae and when your phosphate levels are high algae will grow as fast (or faster) than your chlorine can kill it. This is why houses next to golf courses often struggle with green water and high phosphate levels. Phosphate remover is something you can buy but is one of the more expensive individual chemicals, and you can avoid it by using a detergent free of phosphates. In theory you rinse the filters, but in reality they hold some of the soaps even despite your best rinsing efforts.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve brilliant. Thanks, good to know. I've only got a little hot tub and I'm soaking the filters just now in dishwasher detergent, I guess for me though the issue is lessened, I mean the lid is on it 95% of the time.
Hi Steve. Thanks for the great video about ways to clean spas filters. I am having trouble finding phosphate free dishwasher detergent. The one I did find at Walmart was Great Value Dishwasher detergent. On the label it says it "contains less than 0.5% Phosphorous by weight (safe for septic tanks). Would this be o.k. to use for cleaning the spas filters.
Walmart sells Cascade Complete Detergent for a little over $5 It's phosphate free. The box will say "DAWN Powers away 24 hr stuck on food." Works well on my hot tub filters.
Hi, thanks for this video! I'd love to use your method, however I'm struggling with finding the appropriate detergent (also Simple Green does not seem to be available here). The closest I could find is Bio-D dishwasher powder (also granulated with no phosphates). Would it be suitable?
Have you noticed if you let those filters dry when dirty its hard to clean and you trash them faster because the water flow sucks? I will try your method though
If it's some quality made filters (not Chinese made paper), this should help to revive those old dirty filters. I love having a backup to give my new filter a break every once in a while 😂
saw this video,...started thinking...went to dollar tree and bought a bottle of "awesome" cleaner....sprayed filter good.....rinsed well.... brown water down the drain....filter came out white as snow...2 minutes....$1...you're welcome!
We are a family of 4 and we use the spa alot special at the moment with covid going on it's a intex spa and it seems the spa peeps E 90 onec a week ish which means clean filter a pain in the butt so I will try this method thx for sharing n stay safe 👍
Sounds like you are not cleaning the oils out of your filter. If your current method is to just rinse them, then this would be the problem. The paper from the filter is saturated with oil and makes flow through the filter too hard for the tiny little pump these have.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve hi didn't actually expect a reply👍 but ya your pretty much right usually a bit of a scrub with pipe cleaners n hose down it last maybe a week then beeps again cheers for the knowledge 👍
I just cleaned the whole spa empty a little water put back new water a new filter hasn't beeped so far so I guess the filter system is very sensitive but ya all good 👍
This is helpful, but the video could be done in 1 minute. This would leave room for a before/after. Also, it would give time so see the process of cleaning the pleats.
Great video! I'm so glad someone is recommending using store bought cleaners! The prices for pool/ hot tub chemicals has gone through the roof and has gotten way out of hand. Most are basic chemicals/elements/enzymes and they should never cost what they do today! We as a community have got to find other ways to maintain our pools/spas and stop letting them price gouge us by purchasing their products!
By letting the filters dry out before cleaning them he is allowing the residue to interact with air - this promotes scale formation that clog the filter pores and shortened their service life - better to take them directly from the hot tub into the detergent soak without drying. A spray degreaser such as Purple Power (phosphate free) gets the filters just as clean and requires only 10 minutes.
I've been cleaning my filters this way for about a year now. It's very economical and works just as well as using the expensive spa cleaners. I have extra filters so when I soak them, I give them 24 hrs. I did just recently add one more step to this process. I found that blowing air into the filter helps dislodge more dirt and grime and makes them work a little better.
That is a fantastic tip - thanks for commenting!
I rinse the filter often, but for a deep clean I always use a half litre or so of pool chlorine mixed into a bucket of water. Let it soak for a day and then a thorough rinse. My filters last for years and are still clean and white. I stopped letting the filter dry out because they don't work as well after.
Hot tub water sparkling clear, never had a problem doing it this way.
When you clean the filter do you let it dry after while using a second filter since the first one is being cleaned?
When you mention to add a little oxy every time you step out of the spa, how much? 1 teaspoon?
You probably just saved me $250 per year. Thanks Steve!
Appreciate the advise, Steve.
great information. thanks for posting this
Can you use borax instead? It doesn’t have phosphates
Excellent quick advice. New intex hot tub owner, new subscriber.
Great video Steve. What the ratio of dishwater granules to water?
1 cup detergent to 5 gallons of water. Double it up if the filters are super dirty.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve Thanks, I will look at getting something like this in the UK.
Thanks for good info about filter-cleaning, but how about the water tubes inside, Lots of grease and calcium. My spa is 1500 liter H2O, what is the best way ??? Thanx ....
You probably need to pipe flush. You should do it every single time you change your water, but most spa owners have never heard of it - YUCK! Pipe flush ua-cam.com/video/ueoUp4BfFIo/v-deo.html
Use"Ahh-Some"
what if your a hot tub service tech and cant allot for an hour. would regular cartridge filter clener. filter blaster brand work just as well
The real answer is to have multiple filters for each client. We have the all labeled and would bring them back to the shop for cleaning. Next trip out to that tub for service you have the clean filters with you. Gets your clients buying more filters from you, and you spend less time standing around on site.
went to dollar tree and bought a bottle of "awesome" cleaner....sprayed filter good.....rinsed well.... brown water down the drain....filter came out white as snow...2 minutes....$1...you're welcome!
I've thrown mine in a washing machine a couple of times with no detergent and they come out pretty well....They aren't that expensive so I just put new ones in pretty often....
Do you use dish washing detergent to purge your hot tub too?
So my intex spa has 2 filters but the second one seems to just be for show. It seems no water gets sucked that way so i swap them ever time i get in the clean the dirty one either with the fan setting on the hose or the kitchen sink sprayer. I will try a once a week soak from no one. See if they last longer
although I am not familiar with that brand, many tubs have 2 separate pumps and a filter for each pump. if you only use one set of jets, it is likely that the watter only flows through one filter. you could also have a line blockage.
Where do you get your phosphate free dishwasher detergent from? Brand? Can't find in Delaware. Thank you
Seventh generation for me. Find it online or trader Joes, whole foods, etc. Prob any grocery store tbh.
Target has seventh generation dishwasher detergent.
Great Value brand from Walmart has a phosphate free granule dish washing powder.
Anyone know how long the filters can soak in detergent for? I want to rotate 2 filters. Pull one out and place in a bucket with a lid, and let it soak for 3-4 weeks while using a different filter. Then swap out at each change.
That would be a bad idea. Soak it overnight at most
Hi Steve. Here in Spain I cannot find granular DISHWASHER... Its always liquid or tabs format... Can I use granular CLOTHES detergent (also phosphate free) instead??
What about a product called "simple green" which is a phosphate free degreaser that many pool and spa technicians use. It is a household product so it does not have that "luxury tax" associated with anything specific to pools and spas. Simple green might be a good choice for you. I have not used liquid or laundry...you would think that either would be OK to use, but I just can not say for sure because I have never tried.
Swimming Pool Steve which detergent did you use ? Where can I get it from ?
Thanks you Steve!
Thanks SPS!
So it may be confirmation bias, but when I read on the filter cleaner it said "enzymes to break down body oils and grime" I thought - that's what dishwasher detergent does.
Thanks for the back up.
They both contain emulsifier and degreaser.
Very helpful
Thank you for sharing.
Great tip
my spa guy uses and recommends a degresser product called “Simple Green”....any comments on this product?
Simple green is a non-foaming degreaser which is phosphate free...so yes, this works just fine. Just a little more expensive than the automatic dishwasher detergent.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve How much Simple Green should we use? 1 Cup liquid?
Chris Ferrer sane question...cup???
Doesn't mention how much detergent to use for larger filters ?.
1 cup of detergent to 5 gallons of hot water is the ratio
Is it okay to use liquid dishwasher instead (that's also phosphate free)?
It is not, in the same way it would not be OK to use that soap in your dishwasher or washing machine. The dishwasher soap is specifically formulated to NOT promote bubbles...something that liquid dishsoap can not say. If yo use liquid and fail to rinse 100% of the soap off, which is almost guaranteed as some will hide in the pleats of the filter, your spa will turn into a bubble making factory and that is why you need to use granular dishwasher detergent.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve "liquid DISHWATER soap" is made for dishwashers and I use it all the time in my dishwasher. In light of that, would you care to rethink your answer?
@@hannabaal150 you should be OK as long as it's phosphate free
Would borax work as well?
Čo si použil aký prášok?
i may use my hot tub every other day but I have always cleaned my filters once a week and change the water out completely with a tub scrub down every 3 months
Filters should be changed every use. I change every day and 2 days at the most
@@Mark_B544 that will be expensive as hell to maintain
@@samsquid9138 4 months is way to long 2 days is too soon
@@Mark_B544 Filters are designed to be cleaned every 3 months - any more often is a waste of time
I own 170 gallon hot tub and change my water every 14 months.
Honestly if you are using the tub every day, you should be cleaning the filter every few days! It gets dirty FAST
Was REALLY hoping this video showed the end result. Guess I have to try but dang.
I normally pop mine in a washing machine with detergent, always comes out clean.
I did find it helpful and I did subscribe. Thanks! I love the idea of saving money!
Can I just use Finish tablets?
Y not put them into dishwasher instead? take them out before the hot dry cycle
only because the filters are super disgusting and full of pubes and skin and ass sweat. Some people do clean their filters that way. The rest of us silently judge them.
What is a good indicator that you have rinsed the filter enough if you use this method? I got the detergent and just about ready to clean my first filter, but I envision not getting the soap out enough and causing it foam the hot tub.
'til the water runs clear. Dishwasher soap doesn't include the foaming agent, so it shouldn't be a problem.
Why Phosphate free?
Phosphates are a food source for algae and when your phosphate levels are high algae will grow as fast (or faster) than your chlorine can kill it. This is why houses next to golf courses often struggle with green water and high phosphate levels. Phosphate remover is something you can buy but is one of the more expensive individual chemicals, and you can avoid it by using a detergent free of phosphates. In theory you rinse the filters, but in reality they hold some of the soaps even despite your best rinsing efforts.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve brilliant. Thanks, good to know. I've only got a little hot tub and I'm soaking the filters just now in dishwasher detergent, I guess for me though the issue is lessened, I mean the lid is on it 95% of the time.
Hi Steve. Thanks for the great video about ways to clean spas filters. I am having trouble finding phosphate free dishwasher detergent. The one I did find at Walmart was Great Value Dishwasher detergent. On the label it says it "contains less than 0.5% Phosphorous by weight (safe for septic tanks). Would this be o.k. to use for cleaning the spas filters.
Walmart sells Cascade Complete Detergent for a little over $5
It's phosphate free.
The box will say "DAWN Powers away 24 hr stuck on food."
Works well on my hot tub filters.
What’s the big deal with phosphate? I mean 0.5% is so little and what does it do that’s bad?
Great value (Walmart brand) powdered dishwasher soap says phosphate free on the side label under the spout.
@@lh98 Phosphates interact with bromine and chlorine causing cloudy water and foam. Phosphates can also contribute to algae growth
@@XaQtionerBIGZ1 The brand is CASCADE but the box advertises for DAWN?!? Your comment is contradictory and makes no sense
Landry detergent main cause
Thank you!
Cheers. Glad it helped
Thank you for the information
Hi, thanks for this video! I'd love to use your method, however I'm struggling with finding the appropriate detergent (also Simple Green does not seem to be available here). The closest I could find is Bio-D dishwasher powder (also granulated with no phosphates). Would it be suitable?
SuperClean is the same but stronger.. There is also K&N filter cleaner,
IDX,
Zep purple degreaser. All basically the same thing
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Thanks Steve
Very helpful!
Have you noticed if you let those filters dry when dirty its hard to clean and you trash them faster because the water flow sucks? I will try your method though
If it's some quality made filters (not Chinese made paper), this should help to revive those old dirty filters. I love having a backup to give my new filter a break every once in a while 😂
saw this video,...started thinking...went to dollar tree and bought a bottle of "awesome" cleaner....sprayed filter good.....rinsed well.... brown water down the drain....filter came out white as snow...2 minutes....$1...you're welcome!
Davina there are so many “awesome “ products at the dollar tree which one specifically did you get? Thanks for your help.
@@anthonykenny2631 The item is named AWESOME
This doesn't work when you have five filters
We are a family of 4 and we use the spa alot special at the moment with covid going on it's a intex spa and it seems the spa peeps E 90 onec a week ish which means clean filter a pain in the butt so I will try this method thx for sharing n stay safe 👍
Sounds like you are not cleaning the oils out of your filter. If your current method is to just rinse them, then this would be the problem. The paper from the filter is saturated with oil and makes flow through the filter too hard for the tiny little pump these have.
@@Swimmingpoolsteve hi didn't actually expect a reply👍 but ya your pretty much right usually a bit of a scrub with pipe cleaners n hose down it last maybe a week then beeps again cheers for the knowledge 👍
@@jamiepalzeaird3013 100% oils in the paper are causing your problem. You probably also have a lot of suds in your water when you use the jets.
I just cleaned the whole spa empty a little water put back new water a new filter hasn't beeped so far so I guess the filter system is very sensitive but ya all good 👍
This is helpful, but the video could be done in 1 minute. This would leave room for a before/after. Also, it would give time so see the process of cleaning the pleats.
You could've SHOULD'VE done that in under 2 min.
SO MUCH WASTEFUL chatter
DUDE...
WAY to much wasteful talkin
OMG
Incomplete video. Your title should be how to soak hot tub filters. You didn't clean them.