mould on rope, advice please.

[felixthelogchopper]

Stop getting down on your knees!

 

It's the only way I can get low enough to put in the back cut

[woody1]

According to the mrs, bicarb of soda in hot water. Put enough water in a bath to cover the rope, bicarb and leave it to soak for a while. Rinse the rope of well with cold water after. Apparently the bicarb attacks mould and mildew.

 

Haven't tried it myself but she sounded convincing

[Ewan Murray]

I used some soap flakes when I washed mine, I got fed up of trying to scrub it in the bath so I took it down the local laundrette didn't fancy damaging my machine haha

[David Goss]

I have always just chucked my ropes in the washing machine as they are, at 30 degrees with about 1/4 the normal amount of powder if they are sappy...including 50m of 16mm liros, no probs to the machine......have some of you lot had busted machines from this?

 

I heard that if you use normal powder it can damage your rope! i was told that you should only use natural soap flakes if you need to use a detergent of any kind. Personally i daisy chain it and hang it up, then blast the hell out of it with a water jet. I tried washing it in the bath but it was more hastle than it was worth, then i noticed when i was rinsing it with the shower that i was getting more dirt out of it so thats what gave me the idea.

[Dave D]

i think its gonna be hard work in the bath so i might take a chance with the machine. cheers for the input fellas.

[Ewan Murray]

i think its gonna be hard work in the bath so i might take a chance with the machine. cheers for the input fellas.

 

After five minutes cleaning my rope I spent an hour cleaning the bath and ruined a t-shirt I would risk the machine Dave haha

[BenC]

Jet washing can push sharp dirt into the middle of the rope:sad:

[Mark Bolam]

I've always washed my ropes in a machine Dave, with no problems.

 

It's when you leave your carabiners attached to it you get problems....

[Frank]

More problems with washing mashines come from washing Chainsaw pant without shaking them off properly first. Chuck the rope in a pillow case first to protect it a bit.

[Treewolf]

I always used to use soap flakes and a washing machine for my caving ropes, which often got very dirty indeed (if they were too bad, I would tie them off in a river for a while to rinse first). I was taught never to use modern washing powders (or fabric conditioner for that matter) since they contain very aggressive chemicals which can damage the rope. The rope should also be air dried thoroughly afterwards if being put into store.

 

I was told as a kid that soda bicarb was the only way to kill mould and smells in a refrigerator, but I am not sure I would try it on a rope since, if i recall correctly, it is quite a powerful alkali and would possibly damage the rope.

 

The weirdest thing I ever saw in a washing machine was years ago in Wells, Somerset, when we spotted was a pair of caving boots banging around in the drum of a machine in the launderette in the High Street! I guess that is an occupational hazard of running a launderette in a city in a caving area. Don't suppose it did the boots much good either.