• Some pool filters require backwashing.Swimming pool and pool house image by Jim Mills from Fotolia.com
  
  

No, You Should Not

• You should not try to backwash your cartridge filter. Cartridge filters do not come with a backwash valve, so you cannot reverse the flow of water through the filter properly.
  
  

You Should Still Clean It

• Even though you can't backwash a cartridge filter to clean it, you should remove it from its housing once or twice a year and clean it. This simply involves spraying it down with a hose, which actually uses less water than the backwashing process.
  
  

Bottom Line

• You can't backwash a cartridge pool filter. However, you can and should clean the filter every year, which is the purpose of backwashing a filter.