Route Cleaning Brushes

Hey guys,

I was looking into cleaning out some old routes (from the 80's) as they seemed like nice routes, except the cracked were filled with dirt, and the rock was covered in grime and lichen. Any suggestions on brushes to clean out routes? I've heard copper does a good job, but I'm not really sure what I'm looking for.

I'm aware of what happens when you over brush rock and such, and I don't need to hear the ethics, I'm just looking at cost/accessibility if I wanted to clean up some lines.

use any steel wire brush you can find at like homedepot

My advice, for what it's worth:

A whisk broom is excellent for general cleaning.

A nut tool is good for digging dirt out of cracks.

A decent pair of work gloves is really nice to have too.

What type of rock? Steel should probably be avoided if it's soft sandstone...especially on existing routes.

VERY important white kind of bristles you use and what kind of rock you are cleaning.

Too hard a bristle (i.e. steel on softer stone) and you make a really ugly mess. I like the softer brass brushes. Duster brushes are really good too.

I'm looking at rough granite with some crystal formations on it, lots of lichen as well. I'm thinking steel won't be an issue on New Hampshire Granite, it's by no means soft. My knuckles are peckered with tiny scabs from my last go at this route (most from one hand jam.)I won't be cleaning any sand stone as far as I know so I'm not worried about that, for anything softer I have an old hairbrush that is pretty stiff bristled.

Avoid wire brushes on any stone.

Soft rock ends up looking brushed, and harder stone can become polished. Use heavy duty nylon brushes ranging from softer to very stiff and you'll be fine.

Yo brendan- I doesn't happen to be one of my old routes does it ? In NH a stiff steel brush with a slightly curved section works best. For serious work, a wire push broom has been quite effective for me.

Some small wire pipe brushes will take gare of the details.

john strand wrote:Yo brendan- I doesn't happen to be one of my old routes does it ? In NH a stiff steel brush with a slightly curved section works best. For serious work, a wire push broom has been quite effective for me. Some small wire pipe brushes will take gare of the details.

I was looking to clean some old trad routes on Priest Road Cliff. Have you done any climbing there?

Also I'm going to visit the hardware store today and see what I find for either wire or nylon type materials. I'm looking for a larger brush to de-moss/lichen large parts of a cliff. Not sure how well it will work though. Might be using a telescoping window brush attachment to avoid rapping, I'll let you know how it goes.

Josh Lagalo wrote :Avoid wire brushes on any stone. Soft rock ends up looking brushed, and harder stone can become polished. Use heavy duty nylon brushes ranging from softer to very stiff and you'll be fine.  

Josh, that is completely unrealistic on New Hampshire granite. We are not talking about scrubbing chalk off a boulder problem, but heavy lichen and dirt. For those who recommend brass, I can't believe it. Brass leaves a deposit on the rock on anything but the softest stone. Maybe that would work on soft sandstone, but it would look awfull on granite. Brendan, I do a lot of route cleaning in NH. Aside from making sure there are no rare plants like the fragrant fern or some rare sedges, or the flora is particularly aesthetic, you can hit it pretty hard. Routes in NH that aren't climbed on regularly grow back very quickly. (for an example, look at the second pitch of Stewart's crack at Green's Cliff here on MP). Within a couple years cracks will be resprouting blueberry bushes. You will want a good steel bristled brush with a scraper. I hate the fact, but plastic ones work much better than wood. I recommend the Wooster brush #1821 Longneck Wire Brush with Scraper. It has a knuckle guard that is invaluable. You still will want a pair of good, fairly tight fitting work gloves or your hands will get trashed. amazon.com/gp/product/B0000…;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004YOSF&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1K7TKEPTZVQD5XKHBCEN  (2021 EDIT -unfortunately these brushes are no longer made) Get a few of them if you will be doing much cleaning. One without a scraper is good for the cracks.You will also want a thin long screw driver for doing finish work in the thin cracks and a big sturdy one for reaching in for the heavier stuff. You will also want a good whisk broom, some small steel brushes, small pipe/ hole brushes and a blow bulb. You can get the bulb and hole brushes from Fastenal. They are the same ones you use for cleaning bolt holes.. Get a handful of the hole brushes. They don't last very long. If the cracks have really gotten filled in, you may even need a small hand mattock to dig the dirt out. I was lucky enough to find a tool that looks like a big screw driver with a bent end in an auto parts store cheap tool bin. It is my favorite tool, great for digging dirt out and prying off loose flakes. Since you are working on established route though, you will want to go much easier on removing loose rock. I'd only take it off if it was really ready to go and constituted a hazard. You don't want to go pissing people off by altering the route if you can help it. If the route is good and the cleaning is not going to make a jarring appearance to other user groups as a result, go for it. Just make sure you clean up afterwards, or even as you go if there is potential for people to come along and freak out. If there is a pile of debris at the base, toss it into the woods and spread it around to make it blend in. Good luck, and thanks for the effort.

^ 5 star post

Agreed with Jon H. I'm not looking for the whole route cleaning deluxe kit, but thanks for the info. I picked up a brass brush at the hardware store, and I'm testing it out on some smaller dirty boulders by my house to see if there really is an effect, and I got a larger whisk brush head to fit a telescoping pole I already have. I'll give that a try out this Turkey Day break :) Thats going to be mostly for moss anyway.

Thanks RadDawg for the nut tool advice, that hadn't occurred to me and I have one of course so I'll give it a try as well.

Thanks for the wealth of advice Sprague!

Brendan

What is the etiquette for cleaning a route? Must you ask? Can you just go for it? If you're aware of a couple of fellows that spend lots of time a "said crag", should they have any say in the matter?

Mark, I found your post really helpful. Thanks!  

Priest Road Cliff has been climbed on for decades.  If anything's dirty I'm sure cleaning it up will be a service.

Dumplington Hill is nearby too.  Most of the routes there were vigorously scrubbed in the 1980's, but I'll bet a lot of them are fuzzy now.  Get after them too ;-)  Unlike Priest, the Dump isn't right on a road.

Until you have cleaned a route with a small blower you don't know what clean is.  I don't really bother doing much cleaning on a new climbs unless I have the mini blower along.  This steel brush is by far the best brush I have used for cleaning.  You can hold it sideways with the handle near the rock and it can brush off most lichen without scratching the rock.  The back side is a good digging tool, make sure you glue the handle on though as they fall off often.  Thanks for your service!