I cleaned mine yesterday after getting inundated with sand and seawater. The legs separated easily, but I needed a 'star head' attachment for my screw driver. Cleaned it with fresh water and a soft cloth, before lubricating everything and a spray with WD40 to get any remaining moisture out of where it shouldn't be. The legs can only go back together one way, and there was a 'stop' for how far the legs inserted into each other and where the clips should be. I found it much easier to reassemble (not that it was hard) with the legs in the extended position.
The little tool above was no help in taking the legs apart in my experience. It does however allow easy adjustment of how much pressure is need to close the clips at whatever height you want the tripod set at.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Simon.