Filter Socks

[MarsRover]

+1 for H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide)

Reef safe. Animal safe.

Causes lysis of the cells of junk in your sock and will not hurt your tank.

Bleach is not reef safe.

 

[gji]

Washer machine with oxyclean extra rinse, then 24 hour soak in water with prime and then air dry

 

[saltyhog]

+1 for H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide)

Bleach is not reef safe.

After air drying for 24 hours bleach is perfectly reef safe.

 

[lou dog420]

I got tired of cleaning mine, quit running them and im loving it!!

 

[debby]

i wash them in the local laundromat with bleach

 

[KTownReefer]

I rinse mine in a laundry tub to get most of the gunk out then throw them in the washer with bleach the run the rinse cycle then air dry. I have been doing this for the last year or so with no adverse affects to my reef.

 

[darkseeker]

I have few dozens of socks and start washing when I have 6 or 8 left. I flipped them inside out. Before putting them in the washer, I run a rinse cycle with hot water to make sure no soap left. Then I throw them all in with some bleach, then wash them with hot water with double rinse cycle. Let them air dry for a week then they should be perfectly safe to use

 

[bassn99]

I never have relished the idea of putting nasty filter socks where I wash my clothes. That's just me though. What I did was purchase a "Panda" portable washer from Amazon for $85 shipped.
I run socks in three tanks so once a week, I hose them off outside, then dump them in the portable washer with bleach, extra rinse, air dry and done. I can fit around 10-12 socks depending if they are my regular 4" socks or the socks from my two IM tanks.

 

[Reefiness]

Soak in H2O2 over night. Invert socks after they have properly moistened. Throw the entire soupy mixture of h2o2 and socks into the washing machine and let it run. When that finishes do another wash with bleach, when that finishes do another wash with vinegar. Air dry, then ready to go.

 

[Sealion]

Wash mine regular cycle hot/cold water 3 capfuls of bleach extra rinse. No issues in the tank.

 

[joro]

I collect my filter socks over about a month and half into an air tight bucket and wash them all at once. Basically I put them in my washer with bleach on a hot/steam cycle which runs for about 2 hours. Once that's complete, I run another normal cycle without any chemicals to wash the bleach then I transfer over to the dryer for 20 minutes. I've found - at least on my dryer - 20 minutes on low doesn't get hot enough to mess up the plastic but also limits the amount of time they need to air dry afterwards. I've run this process on 3 tanks now - ranging from a nano to my current 400G setup - with no ill effects and the socks come out looking brand new after the two cycles. I also don't flip the socks (didn't notice a difference when I did) and after the socks are out of the washer, I'll run a mode that cleans the washer itself with bleach to scrub out the nasties.

 

[KirtiS]

I wash them in the kitchen sink under hot water and then leave them in bleach for 1 day and then rinse them and leave them in tap water for another day and then rinse them again and air dry them. I always keep one pair of clean socks.

 

[l2ob]

I powerwash (with a pressure washer that we purchased for driveway, vehicle cleaning, etc..) my socks inside-out and air dry them, never any soap or bleach. The powerwash alone makes them almost as white and/or clean as new.

 

[MarsRover]

After air drying for 24 hours bleach is perfectly reef safe.

Yes, Chlorine is voliatile.

Be that as it may, wherever possible, I prefer to use methods that are reefsafe regardless of treatement.

 

[Engloid]

I throw mine in the washing machine. I sometimes use a little bleach. Anybody have a good source on a 36" long, 7" diameter sock? Everywhere I find wants a fortune for them.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I use mesh socks and they are easily washed by running them under the faucet while rubbing fabric to fabric.

For you felt folks, using bleach or hydrogen peroxide simply turns organics white. I know I won't be able to find the reference, but a scientific study found just that. They also found the best way to clean felt socks was by using a pressurer washer.

So I say, switch to mesh socks!

 

[Zero Nitrates]

I washed socks in the washing machine with a little bleach for the last 5 years. Never had any issues with it being reef safe.

But...... my phosphates have been at .16ppm for months. I've been racking my brain trying to get phosphates down. In a last ditch effort, I stopped using bleach when washing my filter socks. It took a month to see results. My phosphates have finally come down. Last measurement was .08. I anticipate they will keep dropping this month.

 

[djandre7]

I have found that using a pressure washer is the fastest and best method to get them clean.

 

[Forsaken77]

I read an article where the person took a dirty sock and washed it in bleach in the washing machine. Then they took another sock and soaked it in peroxide, then washed it in the machine. Afterwards, the person put each under a microscope and the bleach wasn't cleaning as well. It was just bleaching any algae still caught in the sock. But the peroxide actually cleaned the algae out.

So I got 25 socks from filterbag.com at $3 each, and I use a 2 gallon bucket with screw-on lid from Amazon, and take a dirty sock, air dry it outside and then pit it in the pail of peroxide. Fits about 8 socks soaking until I wash them and air dry them in the basement. You can get peroxide by a case of four 1-gallon jugs on Amazon for cheap.

If you use peroxide you have to make sure the sock is completely dry before putting it in peroxide. If it's wet it will turn the peroxide to water.