A reverse air jet cleaning system for impingement or porous media type air filter elements includes one or more specifically shaped cleaning air manifolds or heads in which a plurality of jet nozzles or orifices are arranged in a predetermined pattern to provide a totally enveloping air jet which is discharged into a flow tube immediately downstream of the clean air flow chamber of a generally tubular filter element. The jet pattern provides a temporary pressure seal within the flow tube and entrains a substantial amount of ambient air into the reverse flow jet to thoroughly flush or flood the filter element to clean the dust cake from the exterior surface of the element. The multiple jet arrangement reduces the overall space occupied by the reverse jet cleaning system and provides a larger mass flow of cleaning air to thoroughly flush the surfaces of the filter element. The multiple jet orifice heads or manifolds may be configured in virtually any geometric shape to provide the desired jet pattern and are not limited to use in conjunction with cylindrical tubular type filter elements.