My local hot tub store suggested I buy a better filter that doesn't require as much or any cleaning for period of time. Look like spun cotton. What would stick in this filter for that period of time ? Is there bugs, slime, mold, bacterias, oil or what? What are the effects of this leaching back into water. I thought cleaning filter regularly was like emptying bag in a vacuum cleaner.

I assuming this board has some experts that might be able to help me understand the purpose for filters and the logic of a 6-9 disposable one.

Suggested sales pitch included ( mostly from label I tool phone pic of):

-Filter faster and more efficiently than any other spa filter. ( it cant be faster flow and better filtration can it?)
Quicker water recovery after heavy use, taking contaminants out of the water before they build-up and cause a decrease in sanitizers.
-Eliminates the need for defoamers, clarifiers, cleaners, enzymes and
descummers ( no idea what a descummer is).
-Chemicals last longer with less contaminants in the water.( does it remove bacteria from water, what chemicals will i use less)
-Removes solids( What are solids?) in water and lowers the TDS on a constant basis, extending the time between water changes.
-Filters out minerals, stopping buildup on your equipment and heater,
extending the life of your equipment. ( assume minerals mean scale, doesnt that plug filters?)
-No filter cleaning - simply replace after 3 to 6 months.
-Lower density at the surface of the filter with progressively higher
density towards the center. This allows particles to be trapped throughout the entire cross section of the filter, creating superior dirt-holding capacity.( still worried about real definition of dirt here in my filter in my hot tub for 6 months))
-Lower maintenance time and costs. ( what costs of maintenance are lower, this new filter is more expensive and original one after 6 months looks fine)

Just don't want to pull trigger and screw things up when they just got almost right in water care regime.

thx

Hello.

I have been previously talked into buying one of those more expensive filters that looks like spun cotton. Dealer gave same reasons, and said it would perform better than the pleated filter. However, the one I bought was a one-use only filter, expected to last several months, and then you just throw it away and buy another one. So definitely the cost was going to be much more than the pleated ones, because they're disposable on top of their higher price. The salesman's pitch about being a better filter, therefore needing less chemicals to keep the water clean, less wear and tear on equipment thereby reducing repair and maintenance costs, etc. convinced me.

What I found was that the filter only lasted about 10 weeks, after which time it began to disintegrate with tiny bits of the white fluff breaking away from the filter and circulating around in the spa water.

Well, forget it. I didn't need that aggravation.

So now I just use the pleated filters. I have 3 of them, and every time I change the filter, I bring the dirty one to the spa store and they clean and refresh it for me. So I don't have to buy new filter each time, since they are reuseable.