Hi,tips on washing&drying a rope?cheers

Hi George,

The guys at drifters helped me out with this when i needed help. They told me to get a rope brush and techwash. Drop the rope in a bath, lukewarm water, and techwash. Get on your knees feed the rope in the brush and start cleaning. Rinse and repeat till water is clear. Rinse the rope THOUROUGHLY. What i did is throw it into a plastic washing basket and put it under the shower for 10 minutes (every so often toss it like pasta). Drying time varied on opinion 5-14 days. Im sure if you hang it in a well ventilated breezy place OUT OF THE SUN it could be fine in 5 days. I waited 14 to be safe.

It worked for me the rope is clean and i THINK its a good way to do it.

from what ive read avoid using the washing machine because if detergent gets on the rope it could jeaordise safety.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew,after reading the "rope dilemma" post I thought it a good idea to wash it .I guess it's like the engine of a car,one needs to service it in order to prolong the life and in this case also the life of the user.cheers

Mammut ropes recommend putting in a pillow case and then washing in your washing machine with mild detergent and cool water. Do not spin dry. A further thorough rinsing using rope brush is also a good idea. Dry by hanging loosely looped over a line in the shade.

Avoid cleaning products that are not recommended by your rope manufacturer. I washed mine in an Edelrid cleaning solution that reacted with Mammut's teflon coating, leaching it from the rope and making the rope very sticky.

After some reading on sites like UKClimbing, Mammut, Beal etc. I came to the following conclusion:

1. Apart from hand washing (which seems best), front loading washing machines are preferred to top loading machines, and the rope should be put in a pillowcase. Top loaders have an agitator at the bottom that can damage your rope.
2. Drying is best done by lying it down on a groundsheet, out of direct sunlight. Hanging up is OK but can stretch the rope somewhat from the water's weight. Tumble driers are obviously not an option since it uses heat. Spin drying in a washing machine can be done, but here top loaders are prefered to front loaders, since in a frontloader the rope falls on itself and gets entangled, while in a top loader rope movement is minimal.

I recently washed my rope by hand and then roughly coiled it at the bottom of our top loader for a spin cycle. The spinning removed most of the water and the rope wasn't entangled at all. I laid it open in my garage on a plastic survival bag, turning it 2 or 3 times a day. Three days later it was perfectly dry and we went climbing.