Pleatco PCC105 Replacement Cartridge

The original filters had lasted 4 or 5 seasons. The next off brand lasted another 3 or 4 years. These Pleatco only got through one 1 season successfully, and limped along through the next. My pool water is perfectly balanced. I personally run 5 tests on a regular basis, and never take my water to the pool store for testing. I could not get my water clear this spring until we changed out the Pleatco filters. I initially liked them when we put them in the clean and clear pool filter in April 2021. They were a little loose, but they fit and they did a nice job the first summer. We winterize the pool in October, and store these in the garage after thoroughly cleaning them. They sit in the garage for 6 months until we pull them out in the spring between March and April. Last summer started out fine, but as the months went on, we started getting additional debris on the screen of the Jandy Caretaker valve (It is part of the inground floor cleaning system that returns the water to the pool). We have never had an issue with that part in the 10 years we have owned the home. So, we filtered the pool less, used a separate vacuum, and took apart the caretaker valve after each time the pool filter was done running. In October, we cleaned out all the filters, and stored them in the garage again. Upon starting up the pool the end of April this year (It has been usually cold with all the rain in the Western US) we set everything up, just like we always do. Once again there is debris on the screen of the caretaker again. Out of frustration, I decided to order new filters for the Clean and Clear and was irritated that the price had risen by $130, so I started looking at other brands. I purchased a new brand that was priced about what these were priced at 2 years ago. They fit more snuggly in the clean and clear filter than the Pleatco did, the caretaker screen is no long getting debris on it, and my water is now clean. In my opinion pool maintenance has doubled or tripled over the past 2 years. I can not afford to replace theses every year especially given the price increase. Thus, I will not be purchasing these again.