I was just wondering how y’all cleaned them or if you even bothered. I usually try to rise them out a few times but that only works for so long. I actually end up bleaching them, rinsing, drying out and rinse again for good measure before use again.
I have accumulated about 30 socks over the years. When I change them I take the old ones outside and wash them off with the water hose. Often they look clean then but I throw them in to a 5 gallon bucket designated for the purpose and when I get down to 4 or 5 socks I wash them in the washer with about a 1/2 cup of bleach, use an extra rinse and place them in a second clean 5 gal bucket. Once washed they air dry for 2-3 days before being used to let the bleach degrade. Some of the ones I'm using are almost 4 years old.
I definitely need more socks. I only have six right now. Never even thought about the washer, my wife would probably shoot me but it’s a great idea.
I used to wash by hand, but I took Doc's advice and started using the washing machine. They come out looking new every time, I just make sure that I have a few days before I run out so that they can have plenty of time to let the bleach degrade. Also because you are using bleach when washing them your washing machine doesn't stink. Amanda had her doubts at first also.
I have about 7 or 8. I bleach them in the washing machine with hot water, inside out, and then let them air dry for a few days before using. They come out looking new.
Coming up on 37 years of marriage, I wait till she's not home to wash them. Not hard since I only have to wash them every 3 months or so.
Yep, that sometimes becomes my winter time default plan. When it's too cold to even have your water hose hooked up much less use that is much less painful! I have 4 dirty socks in a styrofoam container. They may get the double wash treatment if it doesn't warm up!
I clean mine similar to doc. I order a bunch of them on amazon. When I change out a sock I turn it inside out and rinse it in the sink. When I get down to 2-3 socks I’ll wash with bleach and an extra rinse cycle in the washer. I use very little bleach less than a1/4 cup. Air dry then put them in a bucket. Before I use one I’ll rinse it real quick with some RODI, just enough to make it wet. I have probably 10 socks now, and been doing it this way for the past year without issue. It’s never caused any sort of issue with the washer, it’s such a small load of laundry. I’ve considered using mesh socks or filter cups. But this way is cheap and effective so I’ll probably just keep doing it.
if you have a kid looking to make money it works out great...i have him wash them out really well inside and out with a powerful hose nosel. then I soak them in bleach water for 24 hours. rinse a few times then hang our to dry. works out great and they look brand new. buying them new? a lot of brands seem to have some sort of residue on them that cause your protien skimmer to go crazy so be aware of that being an issue. I would be very concerned about putting them in the washer unless it was a dedicated washer in the garage specifically for washing filter socks. the risk of picking up soap residue or anything else in a regular house washer is a bit concerning to me. plus if my wife caught me i might wake up in the morning with my head shaved.
When I got my tank, it came with about 20 felt socks ... I tried spraying, washing, bleaching or using peroxide soaks ... I eventually just bought some nylon mesh socks and love them so much more. I just rinse them with the sprayer on my kitchen sink. If they get too discolored, I soak them in peroxide or bleach and rinse well and allow to dry. I have 6-8 socks now I think ... often I’ll just rinse them and put them right back in. I find the mesh so much easier to deal with than the felt ones!
All of you talking about not using them in the washer cracks me up too. I cloth diapered my son and it didn’t make my washer gross or stink... washing a few fish tank filter socks isn’t going to make it gross! Also, technically you are supposed to run a cleaning cycle on your washer about once a month anyway ... if you aren’t, your washer is probably already gross! Lol
the main reason I don't use the washer is not to protect the washer from my filter socks but to protect my filter socks from my washer... I don't want the slightest chance of picking up any residue of soap, cleaner, ect. on them in any way. the wash room is full of those things inside and outside of the washer.....washers , especially high end washers are prone to breaking down with so many intricate parts and being made in China doesn't help either..haha.. two years may go by and the washers cleaned the socks fine but one day when something doesn't work properly and the they didn't get rinsed well enough or something as simple as putting the filter socks on top of the washer for a minute after soap was dribbled there the day before and not cleaned off well enough without knowing it....you get my drift...it doesn't take much to crash a reef tank with thousands of dollars invested into it. I truly feel that there is no such thing as being overly cautious when it comes to my tank. so it is for this reason I choose the elbow grease route to cleaning them with full confidence that there is no trace of lingering soap residue or cleaner of any kind that came in contact with them at any point during the process.
Can't argue with your willingness to go the extra mile, however I've been washing the same socks in the washer for over 5 years with no issues. I always do an extra rinse. The socks are transported to the washer in the "dirty sock" 5 gallon bucket and leave the washer and go directly in the "clean sock" 5 gallon bucket. Many other people do exactly the same without issues.
