BEST METHOD 4 Cleaning ANY Cotton Gauze type Filters EVER!!

[edgy]

this method is THE BEST BY FAR!!!!! it is EASY & FAST!!! & relatively CHEEP too!!!!


OK... i just figgered this out last weekend...arguably the BEST method i have EVER used to clean Cotton gauze air filter media....i have been cleaning these types of filtersd for about 20 years :o now & nothing REALLY seemed to CLEAN the stuff thoroughly......


This started because i have an SRT intake w/a AFE filter, & i was cleaning it the usual way: spray on the cleaner let it sit.. .rinse it out... blah blah... it seemed to work OK... but i could ALWAYS still see dirt & crap stuck into the filter media down deep in the grooves/pleats... this was pissing me off... so i cleaned it three times the last time ...
soak with filter cleaner..let sit, .rinse...
soak again w simple green, let sit in the HOT sun...& rinse...
then AGAIN, soak with with orange glow cleaner & simple green then let sit & rinse....

STILL there was dirt & bug parts & oil grime down in the pleats & even at the ends of the outside pleats..... WTF!! & you DO NOT want to blast it from the inside with a water or air hose.. .you will damage the cotton that needs to stay in good shape to filter properly....


[size=6]Then..I had an idea......[/size]


I got a small bucket... dumped two scoops of that Oxy clean crap /powder in it & then placed the filter in there.....next i poured 1 1/2 $1.39 2 liter bottles of generic CLUB SODA in the bucket.....(about 3 litres total...dep on the bucket you use...use a smaller one to use less Club Soda etc...)

WELL!!! that shit bubbled & foamed up almost Instantly & this greasy dirty film & TONS of dirt & crap just freaking JUMPED out of the filter gauze!!!!! the foam was all topped with this yellow filter oil & dirt & grime & bug detritus .. .it was amazing that all this crap was STILL in there after cleaning it traditionally 3 times..... the Club Soda was the trick for SURE the carbonation in that just 'boiled' the crap out of the cotton gauze fibers instantly...!!

SOO much crap came out i ended up using a piece of paper to scoop the nasty oily grime & dirt & such that was riding on top of the foam in the bucket out & dumped it so i would not have to lift the filter up & out thru that shit.... i swirled the filter around in the solution for about 3- 4 minutes & then let it sit for a minute or three.....finally I just shook it in the solution for a few seconds & pulled it out... OMG.. .it was CLEANER than NEW!!! I mean it was SPARLKING clean!!!! elapsed time: 10 minutes MAX!!

ALSO....this is VERY gentle on your filter media.. .(cotton gauze) & is MUCH better than blasting it with water & or air trying to rinse out the crap or blow it out all of which are highly discouraged by the filter makers....

let it dry properly, (Note without all that residual grease & grime still clogging the filter.. .it WILL DRY MUCH FASTER :D!) then oil it up & reinstall.... i actually have two filters so i do not have to wait on drying & oiling the filter to drive my car when cleaning filters i just keep one all oiled & clean & ready then i can take my time cleaning drying & oiling up the other one....

you can use ANY cleaning degreasing solution I would imagine...it was the Club soda not the 'Oxy clean' that made the HUGE difference.. but feel free to copy this method to a 'T' if you want to....

this should be a sticky!!!

you are all welcome....!!


:D



Ed G.

[s0yb0mb]

detritus


good word :D

[edgy]

thanks! all those years of being a bookworm paid off!!


Remember Kids ! Reading is Fundamentul :wink:

A good vocabulary can say ALOT about your ...........vocabulary....
:D

[fuct]

i used to sell OXY-CLEAN in a store i worked at, and we found that the hotter the water the better it cleaned. maybe try to heat up the club soda, if thats possible without getting rid of the carbonation.

[fuct]

oh and if you let OXY-CLEAN sit on your skin to long it will start to burn it. i once scrubed a floor with it, and after 30 min my fingers were getting ruff, and raw from the cleaner eating at my hands.

[edgy]

definitely on the heat thing with that Oxy clean stuff hotter is better...


Actually......I thought long & hard about that but but i had no idea how to heat that size container of CLUB SODA with out opening it & letting it fizzout...?

Plus I really did not want to go thru the hassle of pouring it all into a big ass pot & heating it on the stove...then carrying that or a bucket out to the garage....& My microwave is too small for a 2 litre jug.

no... I am a lazy ass & figgered i'd try it fast & cold & less hassle to see how it worked... i tell ya it worked bitchin' in like 5 minutes so I don't think you need to bother with hot club soda i dunno why but it even sounds funny ....

& the fact that it takes like 5 minutes or 10 max to do this on a reasonably dirty filter saves the hands....:D

.....as long as it is not FULLY funkified, yer hands will be fine... & if it is just leave it in the solution longer... i only had mine in ther e for lik 5 minutes & it was cleaner than the board o' health!!

Really, you don't even need to stick yer hand in there much.... you can use anything to move the filter around in the solution....I just got my fingers wet a little bit...

It is the carbonation & the degreaser that really do all the work....no scrubbing, no mess no hassle... :D

.. it's "Absolootely foking BRRILLIANT!!"

...as my Homies from the UK like to say... :wink:

[Superman IS 300]

hmm...very interesting..

But, are you sure it does not eat away at your cotton gauge etc.? How can you be so sure of that? That would be the only reason why I may not try this method...other than that, it sounds amazing!

Good testing Ed!

Simon

[IS300GTR]

is there a place where u can by the oil for it seperately...instead of buying the full kit with cleaner??

-Eddie

and yes this should be made a sticky my filter is hella dirty, loosing presious rwhp

[edgy]

well.. .I've been using Oxy clean on my laundry regularly for WELL over a year now & my pants & other Cotton clothes are No thinner than before... & they aint wearing out....

...It takes all of 3-7 minutes to clean a filter in this solution & that is a fraction of the time it takes to run a load of laundry.... it is not acid.
Plus you rinse it right out within 10 minutes i would guess... i have NO worries about that.....

... if yer really freaked about that STILL for some reason... use Simple Green / 409... or ANYTHING that degreases...it is the CARBONATION that helps the degreaser get in there & bubble out the crap stuck in the fibers of the gauze....

if Club Soda was like 4 bux a 2 liter bottle, I would probably be less enthused as that could add up over a year or three & dep on how often you clean the filter...how dusty./dirty your hood is.....

but at less than a dollar fifty a 2 liter bottle at Ralph's Supermarkets & i'm sure you can find it for even LESS at like Costco, Sams Club, Smart & Final, or some other discount buying store... it does a freaking UNREAL job in a fraction of the time than the old way..... my time is $$$ so it pays for itself....


:D

[fuct]

thanks EDGY good info!!!!

[stick]

Originally Posted by edgy

this method is THE BEST BY FAR!!!!! it is EASY & FAST!!! & relatively CHEEP too!!!!


arguably the BEST method i have EVER used to clean Cotton gauze air filter media....i have been cleaning these types of filtersd for about 20 years :o now & nothing REALLY seemed to CLEAN the stuff thoroughly......


i was cleaning it the usual way: spray on the cleaner let it sit.. .rinse it out... blah blah... it seemed to work OK... but i could ALWAYS still see dirt & crap stuck into the filter media down deep in the grooves/pleats...

soak with filter cleaner..let sit, .rinse...

then AGAIN, soak with with orange glow cleaner & simple green then let sit & rinse....

STILL there was dirt & bug parts & oil grime down in the pleats

[size=6]Then..I had an idea......[/size]


I got a small bucket... dumped two scoops of that Oxy clean powder in it & then placed the filter in there.....

WELL!!! that bubbled & foamed up almost Instantly & this greasy dirty film & TONS of dirt just freaking JUMPED out of the filter gauze!!!!! the foam was all topped with this yellow filter oil & dirt & grime & bug detritus .. .[b]it was amazing that all this was STILL in there after cleaning it traditionally 3 times.....


Ed G.

WOW bro, someone has been watching alot of late night infomercials :wink:

[IS300GTE]

if it is circular like the hks filters, you can strap them to a fan and centrifugal (i know hyper, don't even start) force will dry, more like dissipate the water from the filter, making for an even quicker overall experience. edgy, you need to have some hot, scantily clad chick explaining that part

-gte

[alredxiii]

Would this method work with a Blitz SUS Air Filter?

[thaclient]

Originally Posted by alredxiii

Would this method work with a Blitz SUS Air Filter?

I was just wondering the same thing. I mean, it's steel mesh so if anything it should be more durable than the cotton fiber. I'm going to try this later on today and report back how it works. My filter is due for a cleaning so we'll see what happens. Thanks Edgy for the idea! :D

[bartkat]

I don't think you want to use hot water, etc. as it might shrink the filter media.

Oxyclean is ok. It's made for use on most fabrics.

The club soda is a good idea.