I washed my bags of it in a 5 gallon bucket. It wasn't really that bad to wash. Filled the buckets up, swished the substrate around. Poured water out.. Repeat. Once I could see through the water I added it to my tank. Put a cup in the tank, put the hose in the cup. Didn't cloud at all. If you can pull it out and wash it I would. Otherwise go invest in some filter floss and change it often.