Can I Clean Spa Filter in the Dishwasher?

Can you clean your spa filter in the dishwasher? It happened when cartridge manufacturers suggested using a dish soap instead of Trisodium Phosprate to remove grease deposits from their cartridges.

Has anyone seen a manufacturer of spa filters that suggest washing them in the dishwasher? There are some people online that suggest that they do it with no soap or use a no-heat drying process.

My dishwasher doesn't remove most of the tomato sauce, but it's a good model. So I thought I would try cleaning it.

The Dishwasher-Spa Filter Cleaning Test

Since my spa filter cartridge had not been cleaned in a while, I decided to remove it. Since it was a 15" tall, I was able to fit it on the lower rack of my dishwasher.

Since my spa filter cartridges had not been cleaned in a month, I decided to remove them. Since it was a 15" tall cartridge, I placed it on the lower rack of the dishwasher.

Even though it looked like it was a lot cleaner, there was still debris stuck in the pleats. Also, there was still a small amount of discoloration in the bottom half of the dish.

How to Clean Spa Filters

The old method is to hose the filter cartridge down using a garden hose nozzle. It's a bit wet and not very comfortable, but it does the best job.

Here's a step by step guide for cleaning spa and hot tub filter cartridges:

1. Turn off spa, open filter canister and remove cartridge.
2. Spray carefully with a high pressure hose nozzle to remove debris from each pleat.
3. Soak the cartridge for 8 hours in TSP solution (1 cup TSP per 5 gallons hot water). Rinse clean.
4. Soak the cartridge 1 hour in an acid solution (1 cup acid per 1 gallon cool water). Rinse clean.
5. Soak the cartridge again in the TSP solution for 10 minutes to neutralize remaining acids.
6. To kill remaining microbes, allow filter to dry completely before reinstalling.

In most cases, steps 3 and 4 are not necessary. For most applications, TSP or dry cleaner detergent is the best choice. Muriatic acid is also used to remove mineral deposits.

The Filter Flosser is a great tool to clean your spa filter. It can get in there and clean the filter's pleats.

Final Tips

- DO NOT clean spa filters in the dishwasher! It's not very effective and could damage the filter.

- DO NOT clean spa filters with a pressure washer, for obvious reasons.

- Dry dishwasher soap is OK, but laundry detergent is NOT OK.

- Remember to rinse the filter thoroughly after soaking to remove all chemical traces.

- DO NOT use DE powder as a spa filter aid. However, Puri-Fiber or Aqua-Perl may be used if desired.

  If you have any other questions about pool and spa products please do let us know - we are here to help!