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Cleaning Gym Holds

Original Post
Will Spaller · · Ogden, UT · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 65

What is the best way to go about cleaning really greasy holds without a machine? I've heard you can use bike degreaser or super dilute acid in a bucket but I'm not sure. Any help is greatly appreciated.

George Barnes · · Westminster, CO · Joined Mar 2008 · Points: 175

Dishwasher? Preferably not your own.

rock-fencer · · Columbia, SC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 265

Simple Green and hand scrubbing is the best way to degrime, degrease, and disinfect holds....soak overnight in hot water perferably then go to town. Rinse off and let dry. Time consuming but best method sans machine.

Acid eats away a thin top layer and eventually wears off the texture faster than normal cleaning methods.

Greg Gavin · · SLC, UT · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 888

Power washer for sure. The quickest and best way!

Eric Krantz · · Black Hills · Joined Feb 2004 · Points: 420

I used to work in a gold mine. We had a "dry" where everyone had a locker. We'd shower and change after shift. When I first showed up, I had regular bar soap. Scrubbing, and scrubbing some more, wouldn't take the mine grime off my arms and face. I noticed all the other miners using dish washing detergent, so I went and bought Sunlight, or Palmolive, or some shit like that. Still didn't work. Then one fellow clued me in... "You new here, huh." "Yup", said I. "Well, let me give you a hint. You gotta use Dawn to wash with, my friend. Nothing else works to take that shit off". And then I noticed, yeah, everyone was using Dawn. So I tried it. And lo and behold, it took the grease right out of my way. Really.

Never have cleaned holds.

Bobby Flowers · · Tacoma, Wa · Joined Oct 2008 · Points: 20

We use vinegar. Works great!

Greg Stokes · · Smithers, BC CANADA · Joined Mar 2013 · Points: 120

+1 for vinegar, best results for the effort for sure! Still have to scrub the ones that are really caked with rubber though

Chris Norfolk · · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Joined Jan 2010 · Points: 190

Nothing works like a power washer. Our local university club has a flat rate deal at the local car wash bay. Soap setting for a few minutes followed by the power blast. Finishes as good as new. We usually end up washing about 4000 holds with 4 people in 2 hours for about $40. Might be worth your while to check into it if you have the volume to make it worthwhile.

Greg Kimble · · Colorado · Joined Feb 2013 · Points: 0
rock_fencer wrote:Simple Green and hand scrubbing is the best way to degrime, degrease, and disinfect holds....soak overnight in hot water perferably then go to town. Rinse off and let dry. Time consuming but best method sans machine. Acid eats away a thin top layer and eventually wears off the texture faster than normal cleaning methods.
+1 for this.

Distilled vinegar is about 8% acetic acid, and although about half the strength you would need to do any serious damage, over time it will take away texture. It can also eat away around the washers, loosen them, and weaken the holds. That's assuming you have mostly urethane holds, which AFAIK, most commercial holds are urethane. It'll take the grime off though, just take some hold with it. If you clean your holds once in a blue moon, might not matter that much. If you decide to use vinegar just try not to soak them very long and wash them with clean water really well.

Side note: don't wash your hard wood floors with vinegar either because it can take off the polyurethane finish.
Slay er · · Ogden · Joined Mar 2010 · Points: 105

+1 for power washer. Its really fast

Kevin Shon · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 65
Chris Norfolk wrote:Nothing works like a power washer. Our local university club has a flat rate deal at the local car wash bay. Soap setting for a few minutes followed by the power blast. Finishes as good as new. We usually end up washing about 4000 holds with 4 people in 2 hours for about $40. Might be worth your while to check into it if you have the volume to make it worthwhile.
So - when you say "soap setting," I am imagining you all placing rubbermaid tubs of holds inside the carwash bay? Then you drag them outside to powerwash? Sounds interesting - can you share more about the process in detail?
Joy likes trad · · Southern California · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 71
rock_fencer wrote:Simple Green ....
No. Simple Green plus Steel equals hydrogen embrittlement AKA stress cracking corrosion. Only an issue if you clean them in place
John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392

For the holds at the gym that I work at and my basement gym I use dish-washing detergent, a plastic scrub brush and HOT water. Wear dish gloves.

SOAK the holds in the soapy hot water for 10-15 minutes. Brush them in the soapy water. Rinse in hot water (while brushing for stubborn holds).

I've been warned-off from using acid of any kind.

John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392
gription wrote: No. Simple Green plus Steel equals hydrogen embrittlement AKA stress cracking corrosion. Only an issue if you clean them in place
I highly doubt this. Can you provide supporting evidence?
Ken Noyce · · Layton, UT · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 2,648
gription wrote: No. Simple Green plus Steel equals hydrogen embrittlement AKA stress cracking corrosion. Only an issue if you clean them in place
No, hydrogen embrittlement happens when hydrogen is difused into the steel. this generally only happens at higher temperatures (like when the steel is being formed or heat treated), but could happen at lower temperatures if there is a high concentration of hydrogen around the steel. Simple Green is a fairly neutral cleaner meaning that it doesn't have a high concentration of hydrogen ions, so there is no way it would cause hydrogen embrittlement.

Also, hydrogen embrittlement is not AKA Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). The fracture surface of a hydrogen embrittlement failure and an SCC failure look almost identical, but hydrogen embrittlement is a different failure method than SCC. These two failure modes could be working simultaneously, but they are still two distinct failure modes.
Joy likes trad · · Southern California · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 71
kennoyce wrote: No, hydrogen embrittlement happens when hydrogen is difused into the steel. this generally only happens at higher temperatures (like when the steel is being formed or heat treated), but could happen at lower temperatures if there is a high concentration of hydrogen around the steel. Simple Green is a fairly neutral cleaner meaning that it doesn't have a high concentration of hydrogen ions, so there is no way it would cause hydrogen embrittlement. Also, hydrogen embrittlement is not AKA Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC). The fracture surface of a hydrogen embrittlement failure and an SCC failure look almost identical, but hydrogen embrittlement is a different failure method than SCC. These two failure modes could be working simultaneously, but they are still two distinct failure modes.
steel is suseptable to imbrittlement due to SG. the US Navy spent lots of money verifying it.
rock-fencer · · Columbia, SC · Joined Dec 2009 · Points: 265

even if it does do whatever it is y'all are taking about...its not going to make or break a climbing hold. It works. Use it if you want. I've gone over to vinegar soaks mixed in with whatever degreaser i can get my hands on.

just dont add bleach to ammonia and you and your holds should be ok.

John Byrnes · · Fort Collins, CO · Joined Dec 2007 · Points: 392
gription wrote: steel is suseptable to imbrittlement due to SG. the US Navy spent lots of money verifying it.
I agree entirely with Kennoyce. I did a little searching...

It seems the original SG isn't good for aluminum and its alloys. SG has since produced a product that is safe for Al.

As far as steel, eg. the inserts in climbing holds, the only thing I found was a bicycle chain that cracked after soaking in SG for 5 months. It probably cracked due to rust from the water in SG.

In all cases, proper rinsing of the item after using SG, per instructions, is safe. So, as we used to say in the lab, RTFM.
Joy likes trad · · Southern California · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 71
John Byrnes wrote: I agree entirely with Kennoyce. I did a little searching... It seems the original SG isn't good for aluminum and its alloys. SG has since produced a product that is safe for Al. As far as steel, eg. the inserts in climbing holds, the only thing I found was a bicycle chain that cracked after soaking in SG for 5 months. It probably cracked due to rust from the water in SG. In all cases, proper rinsing of the item after using SG, per instructions, is safe. So, as we used to say in the lab, RTFM.
whatever. It caused landing gear to crack in naval aviation. I avoid using on steel.
Kevin Shon · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2009 · Points: 65
gription wrote: whatever. It caused landing gear to crack in naval aviation. I avoid using on steel.
Gription - let me know next time you're flying a climbing hold - or trying to land one back in on the launch deck. I'd pay good money to see that!
Joy likes trad · · Southern California · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 71
Kevin Shon wrote: Gription - let me know next time you're flying a climbing hold - or trying to land one back in on the launch deck. I'd pay good money to see that!
sacrcasm aside if I was going to clean them in place I woul duse detergent.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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