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I clean mine every month or so whether they need it or not, but they always do.

Just my opinion, but you may not be doing your engine a favor by excessive cleaning. That's because the filtration efficiency increases as a gauze filter loads with dirt (to a point of course); a clean filter allows the most dirt to pass into your intake. That's partly the reason gauze filter manufacturers recommend an extended mileage (20K?) cleaning cycle (the other reason is marketing).