Not Your Normal Filter Sock Question

[lapin]

This is not about the pros and cons of running filter socks or whether you do or dont.
Now on with the show....

Have you noticed that over time your filter socks clog up?
Have you noticed that over time they seem to get thinner?
Have you noticed any one suppliers or brand are different in longevity?

My 2 year old socks seem to be clogging faster now than a year ago.

 

[vetteguy53081]

This is not about the pros and cons of running filter socks or whether you do or dont.
Now on with the show....

Have you noticed that over time your filter socks clog up?
Have you noticed that over time they seem to get thinner?
Have you noticed any one suppliers or brand are different in longevity?

My 2 year old socks seem to be clogging faster now than a year ago.

I went to mesh for this reason on big tank. They seem to last forever.
Two years is fantastic. The amount of wash and abuse they take being cotton, they will thin out but still work. For this reason when I use cotton ones on my 93 cube, I have 3 sets. It allows me to rotate them as they get dirty and extend the life on them.
For an investment of $14 , if I can get a flannel shirt or jeans to last two years. . . im very grateful.

 

[kevin_e]

Just upgraded to a Clarisea. Not only did I notice those things, I ignored the need to wash socks so I never had any to replace the clogged ones with. In the end I went sockless. Made a mess of my sump.

 

[Ef4life]

What do you do to clean them?

I’ve never noticed a change in mine, besides the felt texture changing after being used and washed.

FWIW I use my washing machine, first I run a cycle on the washer empty with just bleach to rinse it out, then the socks go in and a lot of bleach. Then another round of just bleach. Followed by 2 more cycles to just rinse. They come out clean as ever and almost dry after the spin cycle. Let them air dry the rest of the way before using them.

 

[Miller535]

Probably wasteful, but I wash mine maybe 3 or 4 times and then pitch them.

 

[Ef4life]

Probably wasteful, but I wash mine maybe 3 or 4 times and then pitch them.

I have some going on 5 years. Maybe I’m too cheap

 

[TriggerFinger]

I bought a 7” 50 micron sock from amazon to use for cleaning the sump and stuff. It turned out to be a really nice one. Honritone was the brand. The socks that came with my trigger sump get fuzz balls after a few washes, don’t know if they are 100 or 200 micron. The BRS socks get thinner each wash. I bought some from another retailer in various microns and haven’t used them yet.

 

[lapin]

What do you do to clean them?

I turn them inside out.
Rinse in sink.
Toss in washer.
Put in bleach.
Wash cycle with extra rinse.
Run thru wash cycle 1 more time.
Let air dry.

 

[ScottR]

This is not about the pros and cons of running filter socks or whether you do or dont.
Now on with the show....

Have you noticed that over time your filter socks clog up?
Have you noticed that over time they seem to get thinner?
Have you noticed any one suppliers or brand are different in longevity?

My 2 year old socks seem to be clogging faster now than a year ago.

Great question. I keep teetering between pro sock/ anti sock.

 

[Miller535]

I turn them inside out.
Rinse in sink.
Toss in washer.
Put in bleach.
Wash cycle with extra rinse.
Run thru wash cycle 1 more time.
Let air dry.

I do similar.

Turn inside out and wash in hottest temp in washing machine (mine has sanitize load)
Turn right side out and wash in hottest temp again
Air dry overnight and use if needed

 

[Scorpius]

I still have 200 micron felt socks from 2014. They still work fine. Maybe your washing machine isn't doing its job anymore.

 

[lapin]

Maybe your washing machine isn't doing its job anymore.

I will talk to it. Its a five year old. I dont know how well they listen to adults.....

 

[Miller535]

I will talk to it. Its a five year old. I dont know how well they listen to adults.....

Washing it inside out, and then right side out, helps A LOT.

 

[redfishbluefish]

@lapin , I don't believe you actually mentioned, but from context, believe you are using felt. I'm not sure if I could find the reference, but someone years ago did a study of cleaning and found that washing machine/bleach left a bunch of "debris" behind that was now white from the bleach. The sock really isn't clean. The most effective way to clean felt is with a powerwasher. I'll see if I can find that reference, and if I can, I'll add it here. My guess with you is that they are simply clogging up with debris that isn't getting cleaned out by washing/bleach

Now that said, I'm a mesh user and also found that with time I didn't get as many days out of a sock change. I surmised what was occurring was that my washing regime was crushing/flattening/fraying the fibers causing them to clog prematurely. It's all explained HERE.

 

[lapin]

@lapin , I don't believe you actually mentioned, but from context, believe you are using felt. I'm not sure if I could find the reference, but someone years ago did a study of cleaning and found that washing machine/bleach left a bunch of "debris" behind that was now white from the bleach. The sock really isn't clean. The most effective way to clean felt is with a powerwasher. I'll see if I can find that reference, and if I can, I'll add it here. My guess with you is that they are simply clogging up with debris that isn't getting cleaned out by washing/bleach

Now that said, I'm a mesh user and also found that with time I didn't get as many days out of a sock change. I surmised what was occurring was that my washing regime was crushing/flattening/fraying the fibers causing them to clog prematurely. It's all explained HERE.

Thanks for the reference
I do use felt
And bleach, like peroxide does a good job of making things white and killing bacteria. They are not all that good at removing dirt. We just cant use a surfactant to break that dirt bond in fear of making a bubble bath.

 

[Miller535]

@lapin , I don't believe you actually mentioned, but from context, believe you are using felt. I'm not sure if I could find the reference, but someone years ago did a study of cleaning and found that washing machine/bleach left a bunch of "debris" behind that was now white from the bleach. The sock really isn't clean. The most effective way to clean felt is with a powerwasher. I'll see if I can find that reference, and if I can, I'll add it here. My guess with you is that they are simply clogging up with debris that isn't getting cleaned out by washing/bleach

Now that said, I'm a mesh user and also found that with time I didn't get as many days out of a sock change. I surmised what was occurring was that my washing regime was crushing/flattening/fraying the fibers causing them to clog prematurely. It's all explained HERE.

The " crushing/flattening/fraying the fibers " is why I pitch them after a few washes.

 

[hart24601]

I have not noticed those issues, it will be intetesting if they pop up. I think my newest filter socks are several years old and I can’t say i notice them changing aside from the inner plastic ring on a few breaking.

I jump a heaping 5g bucket of socks in the washer as needed but don’t bother turning them inside out. Add bleach to the machine as it has a spot for bleach. Run the sanitize setting with extra rinse then sometimes pop them in the drier. I spend maybe 2 min on the process of my own time. Been doing it that way since 2010 at least some of the same socks too.

 

[Scorpius]

I will talk to it. Its a five year old. I dont know how well they listen to adults.....

Washing machines do wear out over time. The way they make em nowadays you're lucky to get 5 years out of appliances.

 

[Fourstars]

I really like the redsea mesh socks easy to rinse, and last forever.

 

[TriggerFinger]

@lapin Just as a follow up form my previous comment about the new socks from a different vendor that I had not used yet...they’re junk. 3 of them had stitching unravel in their first wash. Blue life USA in case you’re wondering.