Cleaning and oiling OE Foam Air Filters

[MolaKule]

Some of you may have found a better method for cleaning and oiling those foam OE air filters but this one works for me:

Place filter in bucket with 1/2 pint of naphtha/VP and let soak. Press on filter and flip over occasionally.

Squeeze naphtha from filter and let soak again. Repeat.

Dry filter with paper towel by placing filter inside of towel and squeezing.

Lightly spray filter at 12" from nozzle with Stabil Fogging oil.

Place filter in another dry paper towel and squeeze again.

Replace filter.

 

[MParr]

I use dish soap and water. I rinse and dry and then lightly spray with Accel Foam Filter Oil.

 

[wag123]

Some of you may have found a better method for cleaning and oiling those foam OE air filters but this one works for me:

Place filter in bucket with 1/2 pint of naphtha/VP and let soak. Press on filter and flip over occasionally.

Squeeze naphtha from filter and let soak again. Repeat.

Dry filter with paper towel by placing filter inside of towel and squeezing.

Lightly spray filter at 12" from nozzle with Stabil Fogging oil.

Place filter in another dry paper towel and squeeze again.

Replace filter.

This is not how I was taught to clean and service a foam air filter element when I attended the B&S service school many years ago.
The way they taught us is as follows...
1. DO NOT use any kind of solvent, gasoline, or any other chemical on the filter to clean it. Rinse the filter in fresh water and put a teaspoon or so of dish washing detergent (like Dawn) on the wet foam. Work the detergent into the foam and rinse it clean under the water, squeeze it dry, then wrap in a towel and squeeze it dry in the towel. No need to let the foam dry-out completely.
2. Put a couple of ounces of clean fresh motor oil on the damp foam element and work it into the foam thoroughly. Squeeze the element hard to remove the excess oil.
Done. Safe. Fast. Easy.
The old B&S service manuals specify this exact procedure. I have serviced literally thousands of foam air filter elements this way.

 

[gman2304]

I use a few drops of Dawn liquid and water, work it in then rinse and repeat. Squeeze the excess water out, towel dry, then let it air dry and finally work clean motor oil in and dry the excess oil off with a paper towel…Done.

 

[ArcherDriver]

Use gasoline. Dries even faster.

 

[Warlord]

I use a tub of hot water and a bunch of dish soap.

 

[Revving2Redline]

This is not how I was taught to clean and service a foam air filter element when I attended the B&S service school many years ago.
The way they taught us is as follows...
1. DO NOT use any kind of solvent, gasoline, or any other chemical on the filter to clean it. Rinse the filter in fresh water and put a teaspoon or so of dish washing detergent (like Dawn) on the wet foam. Work the detergent into the foam and rinse it clean under the water, squeeze it dry, then wrap in a towel and squeeze it dry in the towel. No need to let the foam dry-out completely.
2. Put a couple of ounces of clean fresh motor oil on the damp foam element and work it into the foam thoroughly. Squeeze the element hard to remove the excess oil.
Done. Safe. Fast. Easy.
The old B&S service manuals specify this exact procedure. I have serviced literally thousands of foam air filter elements this way.

I used dish soap and cool water and then used the Amsoil foam cleaner set that had a spray cleaner and aerosol oil. Used on Cattman/Monsterflow filters

 

[wag123]

I use a few drops of Dawn liquid and water, work it in then rinse and repeat. Squeeze the excess water out, towel dry, then let it air dry and finally work clean motor oil in and dry the excess oil off with a paper towel…Done.

You don't need to let it air dry. When you put the oil on it, as you work the oil in and squeeze out the excess, the oil will force what is left of the water out of the filter. Try it.

 

[MParr]

These are great suggestions. However, I find that aerosol foam filter oil is a lot less messy.
UNI and Bel Ray are good choices. The Accel brand that I have is no longer made.

 

[JimmyChainsaw]

Many years ago l used to wash and re-oil foam air filters.With the cost of labour and the time it takes to clean and re-oil a filter,it is better and cheaper
to fit a new filter element.Cleaning is only for home owners these days.
Dish washing liquid and warm water are the best cleaning products to use.You must flush the cleaned element with running water until all the suds have gone.Dont re-oil till the foam is dry.

 

[Freischneider]

This is right out of the owner's manual for my Maruyama string trimmer.

Is the filter is too funky it gets tossed. A replacement is $4.
I've tried cleaning old B&S foam filters with gas and it caused them to swell and then degrade rapidly.

 

[nomas]

I have a leftover recharger kit for a K&N filter I no longer have . Spray the cleaner on and rinse in hot water . Dry it and oil it . It ain't rocket science .

 

[Warlord]

Many years ago l used to wash and re-oil foam air filters.With the cost of labour and the time it takes to clean and re-oil a filter,it is better and cheaper
to fit a new filter element.Cleaning is only for home owners these days.
Dish washing liquid and warm water are the best cleaning products to use.You must flush the cleaned element with running water until all the suds have gone.Dont re-oil till the foam is dry.

A new preoiled foam filter every time?

 

[ArcherDriver]

This is not how I was taught to clean and service a foam air filter element when I attended the B&S service school many years ago.
The way they taught us is as follows...
1. DO NOT use any kind of solvent, gasoline, or any other chemical on the filter to clean it. Rinse the filter in fresh water and put a teaspoon or so of dish washing detergent (like Dawn) on the wet foam. Work the detergent into the foam and rinse it clean under the water, squeeze it dry, then wrap in a towel and squeeze it dry in the towel. No need to let the foam dry-out completely.
2. Put a couple of ounces of clean fresh motor oil on the damp foam element and work it into the foam thoroughly. Squeeze the element hard to remove the excess oil.
Done. Safe. Fast. Easy.
The old B&S service manuals specify this exact procedure. I have serviced literally thousands of foam air filter elements this way.

Total fairy tales about gasoline. I have literally washed all my filters in gasoline over the years. Guess what? The sky didn't fall in.

 

[wag123]

Total fairy tales about gasoline. I have literally washed all my filters in gasoline over the years. Guess what? The sky didn't fall in.

They told us at the B&S service school that using gasoline to clean it would destroy the foam. They manufacture the filters so they should know. Just because you clean yours that way doesn't mean that it is the correct way to clean it.
Frankly, I don't know why anybody would want to use gasoline (or any other solvent) to clean a foam air filter when washing it out with soap and water is faster, easier, safer, and cheaper.

 

[BrianF]

On foam filters I do straight gas and the odd time with an oil mix. Either way it works great and then use some leftover motor oil or K&N oil to top up.

 

[Revving2Redline]

Use gasoline. Dries even faster.

When I was working at Sherwin-Williams somebody didn't want to buy a synthetic brush to apply it as a spot primer for white pigmented shellac so they used a foam brush and then came back an hour later cuz they're upset because the brush was gone.

 

[ArcherDriver]

When I was working at Sherwin-Williams somebody didn't want to buy a synthetic brush to apply it as a spot primer for white pigmented shellac so they used a foam brush and then came back an hour later cuz they're upset because the brush was gone.

Guess they should have gone to Benjamin Moore and gotten good paint.

 

[addyguy]

Mine gets so dirty so fast every 2nd mowing I just give it a quick rince in the tap, squeeze it until mostly dry and put back. It will fully dry in a couple of minutes I figure

 

[wag123]

Mine gets so dirty so fast every 2nd mowing I just give it a quick rince in the tap, squeeze it until mostly dry and put back. It will fully dry in a couple of minutes I figure

If you don't re-oil a foam air filter element after washing it, a foam filter won't filter-out the dirt. The oil traps the dirt, the foam element holds the oil.