First and foremost, I understand this is lengthy, but I am in Korea bored out of my mind, so please bare with me and I Hope this helps a little bit.
Smo0oth1,
Pretty much what Mizuri is saying. By force dry, it means obviously by force. Compressed or, or even a hair drier. Compressed air could actually cause the foam to seperate from itself (like blowing holes in it literally). A hair drier may not seem like it is flowing a lot of air, but it actually is. It is actually rated at (per operating electrical power) pushing more air psi than say a regular room fan, basically because it is blowing air thru a little opening, say 2" versus a fan that has 18". I am using a comparison here, so don't look into it too far. What I am getting at is that with the hair drier, you can only cover a small portion of the filter at a time, versus natural drying or even using a fan, which would cover atleast 1/2 of the filter, therefore providing more of a surface area for the air to circulate around (instead of say a 4 square inch section that has a lot more force on it, therefore having a more chance of tearing). Also, the hair drier produces heat, and the end of most foam filters are glued/molded onto the foam part. Heat and glue don't mix. Now say if you had a paper filter, say for your truck, you obviously can't wash that, so air is acceptable, but to a certain limit. While I was doing my nuclear electrician stunt on the SUB, 30lbs of air is all that was allowed on electricial equipment b/c anymore would/could imbed carbon into windings (windings as big as your forearm). Therefore, if I were to blow out a paper filter, I would use less than 30, 10-15 perhaps, and also blow from the engine side out (cleaner side out).
Baxter, You make a valid point with the twin air, I personnally have never used it. All I know is my parts washer works for me.
And if you guys are worried about drying times, buy 2 foamies, one to use while the other is drying.
As far as K&N cleaner not working and possibly damaging the foam, I have no idea. I just thought if it as maybe working great. And I dont think I have ever seen anyone use dish soap before. Simple green once, but that is it. The main thing would be to make sure there is nothing on the interior of the fillter, meaning wash from the inside out, and definately after drying completely be sure to put on the filter spray. Again, sorry for me being bored, hehe.