Scam Alert: Disintregating Felt Filter Socks

wpeterson · Aug 6, 2016

I bought two 8 packs of 4"x8" felt filter socks made by "Encompass All" via Amazon and they completely disintegrated into felt tufts the first time I washed them. I washed them with warm water and a cup of bleach (as I've always done with felt socks). Thankfully, I had 2 quality filter socks that came with the sump in the load as well which serve as a control - they were fine after washing. Only this brand of sock totally disintegrated on first washing. Please be careful and avoid these!

Additionally, they came with some kind of horrible chemical residue on them which caused my skimmer to go crazy the first time I used new ones directly. This was why I went back and washed both the clean and new ones, only to see them all disintegrate.

Please spread the word and be careful with no-name brand products

recess62 · Aug 6, 2016

Thanks for the headsup

reeferfoxx · Aug 6, 2016

wpeterson said:
I bought two 8 packs of 4"x8" felt filter socks made by "Encompass All" via Amazon and they completely disintegrated into felt tufts the first time I washed them. I washed them with warm water and a cup of bleach (as I've always done with felt socks). Thankfully, I had 2 quality filter socks that came with the sump in the load as well which serve as a control - they were fine after washing. Only this brand of sock totally disintegrated on first washing. Please be careful and avoid these!

Additionally, they came with some kind of horrible chemical residue on them which caused my skimmer to go crazy the first time I used new ones directly. This was why I went back and washed both the clean and new ones, only to see them all disintegrate.

Please spread the word and be careful with no-name brand products

Make sure you give them a negative review. I see they have 4 positive reviews and not one negative.

Pruett-nc · Aug 7, 2016

Bleach will destroy many things . Might be why they melted . Be careful when using it on anything .

kaydubya · Aug 7, 2016

I purchased the same exact socks from Amazon and have washed mine multiple times so far with no problems. I don't use regular bleach though, I use peroxide bleach because I feel it's much safer for my tank than regular bleach.

wpeterson · Aug 7, 2016

Thanks for the replies, I left a detailed negative review but it looks like it hasn't been posted yet or may have been filtered.

Bleach is safe for filter socks as small levels and it was only this brand of socks that disintegrated. There were also two legit filter socks in the same load of wash which had no damage (as expected), so I don't think it was anything that I did.

kaydubya · Aug 8, 2016

Sorry, didn't mean to imply you did anything wrong, I just don't feel comfortable with bleach. sorry to hear about the issue. I still have a 4 pack that I didn't use yet, hope they don't disintegrate on me.

Broadfield · Aug 8, 2016

I simply just don't use bleach. I wash them in warm water, twice... they come out squeaky clean. Now I'm curious if my old-butt washing machine(not high efficiency), which uses a lot of water, has anything to do with being able to get them really clean without bleach!?!

FWIW, every brand of sock that I have used needs to be washed first... otherwise the skimmer goes nuts.

zoomonster · Aug 8, 2016

Pruett-nc said:
Bleach will destroy many things . Might be why they melted . Be careful when using it on anything .

I have a bunch that mostly came from Salty Supply when on sale (~$3) and they have been washed many times with bleach and many are over 2 years old. I always accumulate a 5g bucket full and soak them several days in very strong liquid pool chlorine with water then rinse and run through a very hot long cycle with tide free and extra rinse in a high end front loading machine. In the 100/200 micron felt sock mix are also a few of the 300 micron nylon socks and none have had an issue other than usual wear and tear like some fuzz balls. If your not using bleach your not really cleaning them very well. Of course I have a well fed high bioload system and they come out filthy and w/o bleach they don't get clean and get clogged. So if the socks are the proper material bleach will not harm them.

Also I'm of the opinion that yes an old style agitator washer does a better job.