Cleaning of Diesel Particulate Traps (DPF)

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Here at Diesel Pollution Solutions, our expert staff is seasoned in emission control devices installation, service, and maintenance. We sell DPFs and we service the units on the road.

Cleaning of the Diesel Particulate Filter (traps) is an important part of our business. We consider ourselves expert DPF cleaners.

DPF Maintenance

After the DPF is installed, fleet operators are required to maintain the engine and the filter correctly. To be more specific, users have to:

  • Conform to the requirements of engine manufacturers.
  • Perform precise DPF annual cleanings.
  • Use fuel accurately.
  • Track fuel use. The DPF possibly captures all visible diesel emissions; therefore, other than tracking fuel use, there are no visible signs of an engine malfunction.
  • Operate the engine properly to meet duty cycle demands.

Potential DPF Maintenance Problems

When a DPF is not used according to requirements, complications may appear. For example:

  • If the operator changes a vehicle's duty cycle:
    • It is possible that the engine will not heat correctly.
    • In these conditions, the exhaust temperature will go below the necessary value.
    • Accordingly, the possibility of plugging increases,
    • The DPF requires more frequent cleaning, and
    • Damage of the DPF and engine are more probable.
  • DPF problems can also be created by:
    • Frequent power take-offs (PTO),
    • Stop-and-go driving, and
    • Idling.

Diesel Pollution Solutions' Unique DPF Cleaning Services

DPF Cleaning

Why does a DPF require periodic cleaning?

  • Diesel particulate filters remove particulate matter (soot) from the exhaust gas and ash from the motor oil.
  • The DPF's intense heat burns off dangerous toxins.
  • However, ash residue builds up in the filter's substrate and can only be removed with correct cleaning.


We perform the cleaning of the DPF in two stages:

  1. In the first stage
    • We plug in the computer and we double check why the light is on.
    • If the light's on for high back pressure, we verify that the filter is dirty.
    • Back pressure is the resistance exhaust gasses experience while exiting the system.
    • We pull out the filter and we clean it.
  2. Cleaning the DPF
    • First, we weigh the filter.
    • After that, we verify the flow by putting the filter on a flow bench to see how much air flows through it.
    • We clean the filter and we weigh it again.
    • That's how we know how much soot we get out of there.

When performing a cleaning of the DPF we can also test your engine:

  1. We'll run an opacity test with the DPF off.
  2. In this way, we will see how dirty your engine output is by assessing the amount of soot coming out of the engine.
  3. When doing the test, we can diagnose any problem the engine might have.
  4. This will help save your vehicle from DPF problems down the road.

Diesel Pollution Solutions' corporate office is in San Marcos, California. Our company has service locations in:

  • Otay Mesa,
  • El Cajon,
  • El Centro,
  • San Bernardino,
  • Palmdale,
  • Santa Maria,
  • Salinas.

With our expertise and knowledge of cleaning a DPF and this many center locations, we know first hand how to maintain soot levels down.