How to clean a Cal Spas filter (2026 Platinum, Escape X, and Deck manual)
Unscrew the cartridge counterclockwise by the handle, and do not run the spa without it. For a routine clean, the 2026 Platinum, Escape X, and Deck manual says to submerge the cartridge, soak it at least 24 hours in filter cleaner, hose between the pleats, and not overtighten it. Clean at least once a month, or every two weeks if the spa is used more. A new dry cartridge is soaked in plain water for 30 minutes before it goes in, so it does not pull air into the pump. The same manual’s parts list prints more than one filter number and does not say which model takes which[74].
This is the owner’s manual titled Platinum, Escape X, and Deck Spas, document LTR.2026.1010, Rev D, with 1/1/2025 on the copyright page and 2026 on the cover. It is not a model-by-model chart for every Cal Spas tub ever built. Earlier passes found no chart that assigns each Cal Spas model to one cartridge, and this manual does not add one. It tells you to look the spa up by serial number on quickspaparts.com.
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The clean the manual prints
The filtration chapter says the cartridge catches both large debris and fine debris, and that a cartridge can look clean while scale inside the pleats still cuts flow enough to make the heater misbehave. The interval it prints is at least once a month, or every two weeks, depending on use[74].
- Unscrew the filter counterclockwise from the top. Do not use excessive force on the way out or on the way in.
- Submerge it in a bucket. Add filter cleaner. The manual says that, on average, most manufacturers recommend 8 ounces, and in the same sentence it says to verify the amount on the cleaner’s own instructions. The 8 ounces is the manual’s comment on cleaner labels. The dose to use is the one on the bottle you have.
- Keep a second cartridge in the spa while the dirty one soaks, so the tub is not running empty. The manual recommends that spare for this reason.
- Soak at least 24 hours.
- Spray with a hose, including between the pleats.
- Reinstall, and do not overtighten.
The housing thread is called out earlier, at first fill. The manual says the threaded fitting in the canister is corrosion-resistant ABS, and that too much torque breaks those threads. Before a dry cartridge goes in, including a new one that still has its wrapper, soak it in a bucket of water for at least 30 minutes. The reason it gives is air: a dry cartridge can let air into the filtration system, and the pump then fails to prime. Never pull the cartridge while the spa is running at low or high speed[74].
Two skimmers are described. A standard 50 sq ft filter, which the manual says may be black or gray, is held by a locking ring during shipping. Remove the ring and the bobbing skimmer, then twist the cartridge out counterclockwise. A Teleweir skimmer is also described as 50 square feet of filtration with a spoked cap, and the page is labeled “Equipped on Deck Spas.” Fill through the filter canister, to about 6 inches (152 mm) from the top. The manual says not to fill with softened water. Well water is allowed only through a hose pre-filter, followed by a metals and TDS test before use.
The general pleated-cartridge soak, for a manual that does not give its own hours, is in how to clean a hot tub filter. On these Cal Spas the 24-hour minimum in this chapter is the figure to follow. Seating it without stripping the ABS thread is the same caution as how to install a cartridge, which tells you not to run the pump while the well is empty. Cal Spas states that directly: never run the spa without a filter, because debris can be pulled into the pumps and the heater. What that does, in general, is in clogged or missing filters.
Part numbers the parts list prints
The replacement-parts pages are an illustrated list, not a model table. These are the filter lines whose text extracted cleanly from the PDF[74]:
| What the manual calls it | Number |
|---|---|
| Filter cartridge, 75 sq ft | FIL517-4619LC-DSG |
| Filter cartridge, 50 sq ft | FIL11700338 |
| SGMS Ultra Skim filter, 75 sq ft, without weir, with cartridge (517-4619LC-HLG) | FIL517-4619LC-HLG |
| SGMS Teleweir filter, 50 sq ft, 6 scallop, without cartridge, 2" check valve (517-4609LC-HLG) | FIL517-4609LC-HLG |
| Filter up-anchor skimmer, white (L-2124) | FIL11700330 |
| Filter plate, white, with logo (L-4235) | FIL11700331 |
FIL11700330 and FIL11700331 are a skimmer and a plate. The two FIL517-4619 numbers are a cartridge and a skim assembly that the list says includes a cartridge. FIL517-4609LC-HLG is described as the Teleweir assembly without a cartridge. The manual does not give an outside diameter or a length for any of them, so this page does not add millimetres. The 2" on the Teleweir line is the check-valve size it prints, which is a nominal size, not a cartridge measurement.
One more line is labeled “Filter Cartridge 50 sqft.” In the PDF the stock number under that label is FIL50-%D13H15FCT-3, both in the text layer and in the drawn type. This page does not rewrite that into a different SKU. It is not added to the Cal Spas cartridge table. Unicel’s Cal Spas rows are a separate list and do not include FIL11700338 or FIL517-4619LC-DSG. Until a catalog or a second Cal Spas document measures one of those numbers, they stay on this page as the manual’s labels, not as a cross-reference.
The manual’s own instruction, when the picture list is not enough, is to search quickspaparts.com with the serial number from the front of the cabinet, bottom right. If the number is not there, it says to ask the dealer.
The same chapter’s other filter sentences
During filtration, turn the water diverters all the way left or right. The manual says a centered diverter does not leave the pump enough suction to inject ozone, so the ozonator can run without the ozone reaching the water. Spas without a circulation pump run pump 1 at low speed, with the ozonator, during the filter cycle. The control is factory-set with one evening cycle, and a second cycle can be turned on. Heavy bather load is the reason it gives for a longer cycle. Its example of average use is 3 to 4 people, 15 minutes, three times a week[74].
On shock, the filtration chapter says not to use chlorinating shock, because it can damage jet and pump seals, and to use oxidizer shock with either bromine or chlorine. The dose it prints there is two ounces of oxidizer shock per 500 gallons, once a week, after a heavy bather load, or when the water smells, with all jets on high for 30 minutes and the cover open. How chlorine shock and non-chlorine shock differ in general is in chlorine vs non-chlorine shock. The two-ounce line is this manual’s, not that guide’s.
If the spa has an in.clear bromine generator, the manual says to clean or replace the cartridges on a regular interval, or part of the bromine the cell makes is spent oxidizing dirt held in the filter. It also says not to pour pool or spa chemicals directly into the skimmer, because that can damage the cell. The in.clear section is an option. It does not change the 24-hour soak.
Intervals other brands print, which are not this manual’s month-or-two-weeks line, are compared in how often to clean a hot tub filter. A threaded bottom versus an open end, which is the thing to check before you assume a catalog cartridge matches this canister, is in open-end vs threaded filters.
Questions
Can I run a Cal Spas tub while the filter is soaking?
The 2026 Platinum, Escape X, and Deck manual says never to run the spa without a filter, because debris can be pulled into the pumps and the heater. It also says to keep a spare cartridge in the spa during the soak. It says not to remove the cartridge while the spa is running.
How long do I soak a Cal Spas filter?
Two different soaks. A dry cartridge, including a new one, goes in a bucket of water for at least 30 minutes before installation so it does not trap air. A dirty cartridge is submerged with filter cleaner for a minimum of 24 hours, then hosed. The cleaner dose is whatever that cleaner’s label says. The manual only remarks that many labels say about 8 ounces.
Which Cal Spas part number do I order?
This manual does not assign a model to a cartridge. Its parts list prints FIL11700338 as a 50 sq ft cartridge and FIL517-4619LC-DSG as a 75 sq ft cartridge, plus skim assemblies, and it tells you to search your serial number on quickspaparts.com. One 50 sq ft line in the PDF does not decode to a usable SKU, so it is not listed here as an order number.
How often should I clean it?
At least once a month, or every two weeks, depending on how the spa is used. That is the sentence in the filtration chapter. The manual does not print a replacement age in months or years.
Sources
This guide summarizes published manufacturer and public-health guidance; always follow your own spa’s owner’s manual. See our disclaimer.