Are you looking for the best way to clean cartridge filters? Looking for detergents, or degreasers? I have two products that are going to save you time, and make cleaning your filter easy. First you need a good pool cartridge filter cleaner like Bioguard’s Kleen It, and second, a good tool to help get that dirt and debris stuck deep in the pleats.
Before I get into giving you some advice, tips, and tricks. I will give you what you came here for. The products you want are available on amazon. Bioguard Kleen It is the solvent to loosen up scale and debris. And the Aqua Comb is a hose attachment that makes cleaning in the pleats 50 times more thorough, and 100 times easier.
How to Clean Pool Cartridge Filter
Simply remove your cartridge, spray it down with Bioguard’s Kleen It, let it stand for 5 minutes, and then use the Aqua Comb to remove debris, working from the top of the cartridge, to the bottom. Thats it! Cleaning your cartridge has never been so easy. (always use safety glasses to protect eyes)
Aqua comb Cartridge Cleaner Tool
I found this tool five years ago at the Atlantic City Pool and Spa Show. It was brand new at the time, and I had my doubts about it. But it certainly looked like the perfect tool, so I bought one. There was a show special and I was able to buy it for like 15 bucks.
I just returned from the 2016 New Orleans International Pool and Spa show, where I got to talk with the inventor of this tool for quite a while. I told him I was still using the one I bought 5 years ago, but it was starting to leak a little. He told me he has made like 50 improvements in the design since I bought my original. Looks the same to me, but this guy takes all feedback, and keeps making little tweeks. After talking with him, I expect my new one to last twice as long, if not longer.
I found this old video, this is the inventor in the video
I really can’t say enough about this tool. Every time I close a pool, and a homeowner sees me using it, They have to have one. I should start carrying them on my van. It was actually Mark who told me to use Bioguard Kleen It.
I have to share one more tool with you, it is a dream for anyone with a 
Pentair Sta-Rite System 3 Cartridge Filter. It is called Multi-Tork. You just connect it to a cordless drill or 3/8 ratchet, and taking off all those giant black screws holding your filter together come off like nothing.
Anyone with this filter on the right knows what I’m talking about.
Bioguard Kleen It
I don’t know if you seen it earlier, but it was Mark, the inventor of the Aqua Comb that turned me onto this cartridge cleaner. Some people soak their filters by submerging the cartridge in a barrel. I have never found that necessary, and Mark agreed.
You will get several applications from this one bottle, and you will notice your filter is even brighter. The cleaner your filter, the cleaner your pool water. Let me be clear though, you don’t need to use this stuff every time you clean your filter. The Aqua Comb alone will clean it up really well.
Pro Tip* If you have an algae bloom, and your cartridge is green, follow these instructions.
- Super Duper Shock the Pool
- Brush the walls and the floor thoroughly
- Run pool for 2 hours with Shock in it
- Leave Pool Off for 16-24 hours
- Vacuum Pool to Waste. With the Cartridge Out, and the drain plug off, quickly vacuum all dead algae off the bottom of the pool.
- Run Aqua Comb over Filter Once
- Get a spray bottle and add water with 10-15% bleach and spray down Cartridge (Let soak for 5 minutes)
- Use Aqua Comb to thoroughly clean the filter
- Reassemble Filter and run Pool
Algae blooms are tough, and the filter may have to be cleaned several times. But if you follow the above steps, you will kill the algae, so now all you have to do is clean the water. Trying to clear up a pool with active algae is impossible.
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