How to clean a rope.

Hey all,

I have had my first rope (70m 9.8 non-dry) for about a year now and I think it is time to wash it. When I first got it I asked around on how to clean it in preparation for when that day would come and I heard everything from "Dude just take a shower with it" to "Throw it in the washer whenever you need to." Seeing as how I'm a poor college student I would rather do this right the first time instead of screwing up my rope and having to get another one. Any advice? Thanks.

You can use a small amount of mild detergent and throw it in a washer without a central agitator, or a side loading washer. If you are really conservative, water works fine too. If you don't have access to these things, just fill up a bathtub and put your rope in. Alot of the dirt and aluminum particles can be removed with just a little bath like this.

However you will want to daisy chain the rope. Basically what I do is double the rope together and make tight daisy chains with the double strands. This effectively greatly shortens the rope so you don't spend half an hour untangling it.

I've done both the bathtub method and the washing machine. It's not hard, but not that productive either. Within 10 pitches, you won't be able to tell that it was ever washed. I don't bother anymore.

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...it's been discussed a few times . I wouldn't even bother washing ...

I wash mine using the front loader method with a rope soap I got from the climbing shop. But instead of daisy chaining it I just bought a mesh clothes bag with the drawstring closure. Rope comes out all nice and clean with no tangles. =)

It's worth it to me. I hate it when i have to climb or belay on those silver ropes covered in aluminum specks.

I'm not one of those people who use tarps or bags, because I think it's a hassle, yet I think washing is worth it. I get alot more than 10 pitches out of a wash.

Also, it is just conjecture, but I imagine washing it might remove abrasive particles that otherwise are trapped in the sheath or core of the rope and reduce its lifespan or at least make it fuzzier.

The easiest method I have found is to grab an old pillow case and flake/dump the rope into the pillowcase and then secure the top of the pillow case. Toss that rope-laden pillow case into a washing machine and run it on a regular cycle in cold water. Once the cycle ends, hang the rope over a shower curtain rod in your bathroom so that it can drip dry.

This method handily beats the Beal brush and/or the bathrub method, at least in my lazy ass experience.

Bonneville wrote:I wash mine using the front loader method with a rope soap I got from the climbing shop. But instead of daisy chaining it I just bought a mesh clothes bag with the drawstring closure. Rope comes out all nice and clean with no tangles. =)

My wife and I do the same. The mesh bag works perfectly. We didn't get climbing shop soap though, we use McNett's wetsuit shampoo. (We're whitewater paddlers, it's what we have.) Works well. Sure, the rope gets dirty again, but is that a reason not to wash your clothes? Getting the abrasive grit out of the rope will increase its useful life, it's cheap, easy, and safe. Why not?

+1 for bathtub slosh in warm water no detergent... gets most of it and is gentlest on the rope

I take my rope for a walk through a wet grassy field. Flake out the rope, grab an end and start walking. Drag from each end. Has the added benefit of un-twisting the rope. 20 minutes or so leaves a nice clean rope.

I used to wash my ropes in the tub or a big utility sink, but I have found that using a side load washer works just as well, and the spin cycle finish helps with faster drying. When I washed them in the tub, I also noticed, well my wife noticed, that an ugly brown/black line would get left around the tub, been yelled at more than once on that. I use just water, no soap, and gentle spin with cold water when I use the machine. I don't daisy chain or bag the rope, yes it tangles, but usually not bad, and undoing the tangles gives me an opportunity to really check the rope for any core damage.

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