Hayward Pool Filter Cleaning & Washing Guide

If you own an in ground or above ground swimming pool and you have a Hayward swimming pool filter on the pool, then there will come a time where you will need to clean out your filter. Whether the filter runs on a cartridge, D.E. powder or sand each filter will still have to be cleaned out from time to time and more so when the filter is being used heavily, like for example on pool openings or when you are trying to clear a green pool.

You will need a basic socket set, a garden hose with a spray nozzle connected to a water source and about 2 – 3 hours of time depending on what type of filter you have.

How To Clean The Hayward Pro GRID & Micro Clear D.E. Filters

You will need a few tools before you can clean the grids inside of the Hayward Micro Clear & Pro Grid D.E. filter. You will need a standard socket set so you can remove the belly band from the tank. You will also need a Flathead screwdriver to pry open the tank and also a garden hose hooked to a water supply with a hose nozzle to make things even better.

Once you have all your tools together, you will first want to shut down the filter system. Now you will want to remove the belly band from center of the filter tank. You can do so by taking a socket and removing the nut that is in front of the tension spring. After you have removed the nut you can remove the spring from the belly band bolt shaft and then remove the belly band from around the center of the filter.

After you remove the belly band you will now want to take your Flathead screwdriver and remove the drain plug from the backside of the filter tank, then let the filter drain free of any water that is inside. Once the filter tank is drained you can lift the top part of the filter canister off of the filter tank base.

Now that you have the top of the filter off you will be able to see the mesh filter grids. You now can take your garden hose with the nozzle attachment and wash down all the grids thoroughly. You will want to remove all the D.E. that is caked to the filter assembly and the filter grids. The water will wash out through the drain plug on the bottom of the filter tank that you removed earlier. Once the filter grids are clean you can put the filter back together. Don’t forget to prime your pump and once the pump has started add new D.E. powder into the filter through your closet skimmer to the filter system.

How To Clean The Hayward Perflex D.E. Pool Filters

The Hayward Perflex filter is unique compared to many of the Hayward D.E. filters and also many other on the market. This filter has fingers inside that are made from plastic and have a mesh covering to hold the D.E powder inside of the filter so it can clean the water. After some time the fingers and the internal parts will start to cake up with D.E. and then you will need to wash it out. You can do so by using a Hayward Filter cleaning wand or by removing the fingers from the filter tank.

The first thing you will want to do is to shut the filter system down. Once the filter is shut down you will want to open the drain valve on the bottom of your filter tank. The Hayward Perflex EC30, EC40, EC50, and EC65A all have a drain valve that is located on the bottom of the filter tank. If your valve is missing and you just have a drain plug you will want to remove that.

Now chances are you have an above ground pool so what you will need to do now is to take a two rubber plugs and insert one of them into the skimmer bottom and the other into the return jet eye opening. This way as your cleaning the filter all of the water will not drain out of your pool. You also can remove the hose from the front of the pump and connect it to the pool return on the outside of the pool wall. This will create a water loop and then the water will not leak out of your pool while you are cleaning the filter.

So once you have drained the filter and stopped the water from flowing out of your pool you can clean your Perflex filter one of two ways. You can stick a Hayward Filter cleaning wand in the drain port and then point the high pressured nozzle towards the top of the filter washing all the D.E. and debris from the fingers.

The second way you can wash the filter out is to remove all of the bolts around the top of the filter if you have an older Hayward Perflex filter or by removing the belly band on the newer models. Once you do so you will be able to lift the Perflex filter finger assembly out of the tank so you can wash it. You also can inspect the tube sheets bump shaft and the filter mesh on the fingers for rips and wear while you have the filter tank open. Once your done cleaning the filter fingers you can put the filter back together. Also make sure you add new D.E. to the filter through the skimmer when you start the pool back up.

How To Clean Hayward Sand Filters

If you have a Hayward sand filter you can filter try backwashing it to clean it out, but if that hasn’t worked you can change the sand inside the filter tank. To change the sand inside of you Hayward sand pool filter is not that hard to do. If you have a sand filter with a side multiport you will need to remove all the bots around the filter tank, then you will need to remove the top half of the filter so you can scoop out the old sand and then add the new sand. If you have a sand vacuum you can just remove the filter dome and then vacuum the sand out of the filter into mesh bags. When you add the new sand you will want to make sure yo have at least a couple of inches of water inside of the tank or at leas the water should be higher then the laterals. If you just dump the new sand on top of the laterals with no water inside of the tank you could possible break the laterals.

If you have a sand filter that has a top mount multiport you can also change the sand with a sand vacuum or you can scoop the sand out. But either way you will have to remove the belly band that is around the base of the multiport and then you can remove the multiport valve. Once you remove the valve you can start removing the sand and then you can place the new sand inside, but be sure to have some water in the bottom of the tank as well or you could damage the laterals. Once you have added the new sand you will want to put the filter all back together and then backwash the filter before running the pool.

How To Clean Hayward Cartridge Filters

Cleaning the cartridge filter inside of your Hayward Pool Filter is quite easy. You first will want to shut your filter system off. Next you will want to either take black rubber plugs and block off the skimmer inlet and the pool return jet inlet, or you can close your valves if you have them. Once you have stopped the flow of water you will want to unscrew the top nut on top of your filter. Once you do so you can remove the top of the filter and then pull out the cartridge that is inside. Now that the cartridge is out of your filter tank you can wash it down with the hose and nozzle and then replace it and put the filter back together when you are done. You will want to clean your cartridge filter every couple of days or every day if you use the pool daily.

If you need additional help or have any questions, please leave them in the comment area below and someone like myself wil ltry to help you get your filter fixed up in no time ;-)