rookie: the purpose of the stickiness is to trap dirt before it can enter the innerarea of the foam filter element. think of sticky as your friend. my method will definately clear out the old filter oil as well as almost all of the crap stuck inside. a preliminary wash with soap and water, with WD40 to clear out most of the grime, and then a post-wash with soap and water is guaranteed to clean your filter. make sure you press down hard when soaking the filter in wd40, you'll see the dirt squeeze out of the areas you apply pressure on.