Keep your aquarium laundry separate from home laundry and potential outside contaminants!

We love this particular model because of the SEE-THRU body. This unit is just the right capacity to wash our larger towels for big cleaning days and the right speed and efficiency for dirty filter socks.

We also liked that the unit is made of sturdy high-density plastic with stainless steel drum. Feels built to last!

How did we pick this one:  We wanted a low profile, dependable, affordable machine that had a reasonable size and could take care of the washing and drying cycle. 

What we picked:  This is the Zeny washer with spin dry – twin tub washer and spinner with 9.9lb capacity.  It’s available on Amazon and Walmart for just over $100.

How to use it: Overall washing time takes about 15 minutes, with time to walk-away time and being able to clean other parts of the tank. 

Let’s walk you through how this works:

For people who have space, you can keep it hooked up to the sink or keep it stationary with an attachment.  For us, we keep this bucket near the kitchen sink to fill and drain. 

Steps: 

1. Add the dirty filters to the washing tub and cover with water. Make sure the washer knob is set to "Standard" and not "Drain" from the last washing.
2. Add a small amount of detergent-- a tablespoon is more than enough.
3. Run the washer for 12 minutes.
4. Transfer filters to the dryer, drop the exit hose into the bucket and switch the washer to "Drain". We use this perfectly sized baby teether to hold the hose in place when it's draining. Run the dryer for 1.5 minutes.
5. Switch the washer back to "Standard" and re-add the dried filters to the wash. This is essentially a rinse cycle to wash off any leftover soap.
6. Repeat steps 2-4.

Note, there's a filter on the in the wash tub that captures lint as the water is swirling back and forth.

When drying, if you notice a lot of vibration, it's because the contents are unbalanced. Stop the dryer by lifting the cover and even out the filters so that it's more balanced. Using the circular disc is helpful, too, for pushing the filters flat.

If you notice that water collects in the hose, raise the washing machine. We have it sitting on a rolling cart that elevates the hose outlet above the bucket, which causes it to drain completely every time.