Cleaning micron polishing pads

[threnjen]

Hi all,

In my custom sump filter, I have a tray with micron polishing pads in 300, 100 and 50 microns. The pads get dirty SUPER fast. Like within days they are clogged and the tray is overflowing.

I want to be able to clean and reuse them rather than spend gobs of money on new pads.

I want to know if what I tried is all right, before I put in my "washed" pads and kill my bacteria and fish...

I washed the dirty pads in the washer with a VERY small amount of "free and clear" detergent, and a good amount of unscented chlorine bleach.
Then, I manually rinsed, rinsed, rinsed and then soaked for 24 hours in a bucket with a HEAVY overdose of prime (probably put in a 1/4 cup in 3 gallons)
The pads have no odor and are came out of the wash visibly clean, so I want to try using these again.

Thoughts?

 

[wildroseofky]

As long as they are rinsed out really well there should be no problem. I hand rinse mine and then smack them on the edge of the bucket until all the gunk is out. A good spraying with the sink nozzle is good too. I put one of them through the washing machine by accident and it came out so clean I used it. I of course rinsed it in some vinegar water first to remove any soap residue. As long as you are not depending on them to hold bacteria it is fine to wash them out.

 

[threnjen]

Right, I'm not depending on them for the bacteria at all. Solely for water polishing. So I have no problem with killing the bacteria.
Our water pressure is TERRIBLE so no amount of spraying is going to do it, only the washing machine
Thanks for the response!