DGMCR250,
I'm sure this has been posted many times, but here's what I do.
Clean the filter in your choice of solvent to remove the old oil and dirt it trapped.I use gasoline. I prefer a small bucket with enough solvent to submerge the filter. Knead the filter a few times, sqeeze out the excess, dump the dirty stuff. Repeat 3-4 times or until the solvent remains clear, and you can't feel any dirt in the bottom of the bucket.
Wash the filter in warm soapy water. I use dishwashing liquid. (dawn, joy ect...) Use the same bucket and method as with the solvent, just use warm soapy water. Repeat 3-4 times, sqeezing the filter and dumping the dirty water each time.
Rinse in warm water. Same method. Dump the dirt water each time. Repeat until the soap bubbles are gone. Their shouldn't be any dirt particles in the bottom of the bucket.
If the dirt is really imbedded in the filter I use the garden, or the kitchen sink sprayer to remove it. Spraying from the inside of the filter, the water pressure pushes the dirt out the way it came in. I hold the nossle right up against the filter. Gentle pinching and kneading will get it all out.
Once the filter is clean, I spin dry it in the washing machine. Set the filter so the centrifigle force pulls from the inside out. (have the side that faces your carb, face the center of the washing machine)
If the filter won't sit still, I prop it with a clean shop towel. It should be dry in a few hours after that.
Before oiling, I turn the filter inside out to see if I missed any dirt. "Plucking it" with your finger almost always removes it.
Don some latex gloves and saturate it with your favorite oil. Sqeeze out the excess and install. I use Twin Air.
This method only takes about 15 minutes, minus drying time of course.
Hope this helps, Steve.