Route cleaning equipment and tips?

Good stuff Mark- a wire brush with a curved handle is essential, even with gloves.. some type of eyewear for sure. The dandelion extractor works pretty well as long as it's heavy duty.
A Hammer

Though some may thin wire push brooms are a bit much, i have used them many times and have replaceable brushes. detail brushes (plumbing) are good, they look like wire toothbrushes.

Treaded hiking boots as well for extra scaping work

Oh in that case lightning rods, pryromancy flames and a gargoyle's battle axe should work fine.

john strand wrote:Good stuff Mark- a wire brush with a curved handle is essential,

Why curved? I always liked the bloody knuckles look post cleaning. Makes me feel like, I AM MAN!

Edit: add useful information
These guys from Home Depot last for a little while and at $5 I buy three at a time...
Link

All these tips are great. Thanks guys.

One problem I find is with the sort of lichen that coats the surface of rocks in a micro thin layer. It's slippery even when dry and especially when wet. Very common on granite in the northeast. Seems relatively impervious to scrubbing.

What's the consensus on bleach? I am reluctant to try it because it ups the ante on impact and don't imagine sloshing around on a wall with bucket of bleach is that um fun.

One tip I found through recent novice/moronic experience is always work from the top down. Doh!

Jim

Thomas Beck wrote:Question: Is "easing' the Crossly's in limestone crossing an ethical line?

My ethics are aligned with the goal of creating a quality and popular route, meaning the movement is excellent, you're not going to get hurt, and it's fun as hell. I want climbers to come to me and say, "That was brilliant!"

When a climber puts his fingers into a pocket and shreds all his cuticles or punctures a pad, cuts his fingers on sharp edges, pops a finger tendon because a foothold blew, or is blinded by loose dirt, he's going to come to you and say, "Your route is fucking choss, dude. Get a clue."

So you can draw the line where ever you want, but I know where mine is drawn.

Here is a cheap but excellent brush for general use. With a little use the bristles fan out and provide about a 180 degree coverage area making it very useful on irregular rock and or in cracks. Like I said, it's not for heavy duty work, but it's definitely my personal go-to brush if I'm only packing just one. Very light and easy to climb with as well.

Note: I always have to reinforce the handel attachment with a little glue or tape because it's just slipped in from the factory, but I've found it to be worth the trouble.

harborfreight.com/steel-bri…

Also, for a great toilet bowl style brush that is stiffer than most, therefore much more effective than the soft bristled ones, I've found this brand very useful. You can buy just the brush at some big lots store locations.

m.biglots.com/mt/biglots.co…

I've gotten bloody knuckles almost every time, yet it never occurred to me to wear gloves hahahaha

jim.dangle wrote:All these tips are great. Thanks guys. One problem I find is with the sort of lichen that coats the surface of rocks in a micro thin layer. It's slippery even when dry and especially when wet. Very common on granite in the northeast. Seems relatively impervious to scrubbing. What's the consensus on bleach? I am reluctant to try it because it ups the ante on impact and don't imagine sloshing around on a wall with bucket of bleach is that um fun. One tip I found through recent novice/moronic experience is always work from the top down. Doh! Jim

Jim, I think that sometimes is more of a mold/moss thing than lichen,,nasty stuff.Double scrape and let it dry some, hit it again.

jim.dangle wrote:One problem I find is with the sort of lichen that coats the surface of rocks in a micro thin layer. It's slippery even when dry and especially when wet. Very common on granite in the northeast. Seems relatively impervious to scrubbing.

Ya that stuff is tough... to be honest I find that I brush it a bit, chalk it and it tends to be just fine to climb on. I wouldn't resort to bleach. Been developing for at least 12 yrs now and never resorted to that stuff. Def thought about it but never used it even though I hear it works wonders.

About wire brushes, I find that narrow wire brushes (e.g., 1/2" wide) work better than the standard inch-wide ones for tough moss on granite.

By having a smaller surface area, you put more pressure on the moss and can thus really get it off. In addition, a 1/2-inch-wide wire brush will get inside finger cracks.

The brush posted above by nbrown is one such type. I got a bunch of 'em for really cheap in "DIY" stores in Japan (less than ~$1.50).

For dirt or crud-filled cracks, nothing beats a curved pull-saw-type blade and handle. I have some tools that were specifically designed for pulling out and cutting roots in dirt.

For getting tough tree roots out of cracks, bring a hammer and carry a few sizes of chisel.

Cleaning is tough. But if you do a half-hearted job, the route will regrow and go back into obscurity. Better to do a complete job. Take a few passes at each pitch.

If you wanna get really anti-moss/lichen with some chemistry, glue a strip of zinc just under your anchor area, wide enough to cover the route. Rain will dissolve out some zinc that will kill moss and keep it from growing back. It's sold in 2" rolls to put on roof peaks for this purpose.

David Lyons wrote:If you wanna get really anti-moss/lichen with some chemistry, glue a strip of zinc just under your anchor area, wide enough to cover the route. Rain will dissolve out some zinc that will kill moss and keep it from growing back.

This may be okay on granite, but I'd be very hesitant to do this on sedimentary rock, especially limestone, without some further experimentation. It might even be bad for sea-side granite.

There's already a basket full of cations (Na+, Ca+, Mg+, H+) in limestone runoff without intentionally adding another one. These cations are instrumental in the corrosion of steel and stainless steel bolts.

...not to mention almost everybody would frown heavily on gluing a 2" piece of metal along the whole top of a route. Thanks for the tip though. I am going to get some for my slate roof.

Best cleaning tool ever - Stihl BR 600 Magnum Backpack leaf blower.

Not exactly germaine to the OP, but I discovered last summer that compressed cans of air (when they are on sale) are great for blowing out bolt holes and pockets in dolomite.

Irony: I was asking here opinions on whether breaking back "crossleys" was route alteration. Saturday I met 3 long time Vegas locals at the crag and asked the same question. Consensus was don't mess with them.

Couple hours later I got on a corner/crack which used to have a lot of crossleys in it and someone had "eased the crossleys.

Interesting. Route is still as hard but with less risk of getting scraped on the top or bottom of your fingers. Wonder how the route will mature?

I noticed some limestone slab routes in the same area which used to be more textured are getting polished after a couple years of ascents.

David Lyons wrote:If you wanna get really anti-moss/lichen with some chemistry...

Might I suggest a dose of exfoliant invented by Harvard Organic Chemist Louis Fieser.

what is a crossley?

s.price wrote:Man, I thought I worked hard at route development. You guys in the NE really have to get after it. I imagine it is the same in the NW. Never use more than a couple of brushes, one mounted to my blowpole, and the occasional removal of crossleys with my Chouinard hammer.

When i was back in NH, we used 3 brushes, a wire push broom and most of a corn broom up on a single 110' pitch.. cracks are worse

Not to mention all the schist death blocks we have to "ease" off, and mosquitos that are eating you alive while you brush, scrub, and whisk...it is pretty rough to "clean" around here but it could be so much worse. I am thankful its not a full blown rainforest.