I use powdered dishwasher soap on PB recommendation. I put about a quarter of a box in a 5 gal pail, disolve it with some boiling water. Once it dissolves I fill the pail with water and put the filter in. The filter is twice as tall as the pail, so I let it sit around 10 minutes then turn it over for another 10 then hose it all off. Works great, I do it once a month at least. I also use the powdered soap to dump on the pool deck and brush it (wet) then hose it off every spring. Gotta watch tho, it has chlorine and will kill plants. Hope this helps, Barb