Is Liquid Chalk Safe?

My local climbing gym has reopened with some new covid-related restrictions in place. One requirement is that we use liquid chalk. Now, I've never really given much thought to liquid chalk because it's too damn expensive, but as I was mixing up a batch for myself I wondered how safe isopropyl alcohol is for nylon.

According to this page isopropyl alcohol has a "severe effect" on nylon: https://www.calpaclab.com/nylon-chemical-compatibility-chart/

Of course, I'm not a chemist so I may be misinterpreting the meaning of this table. I also haven't yet bothered to check other common climbing fabrics such as spectra or kevlar because if nylon is a problem that would be a show stopper for me. Does anybody know if isopropyl alcohol can have adverse effects on nylon? Was liquid chalk invented just for boulderers or something? I assume I would have heard something a long time ago if this was a potential problem, right?

Safer than getting Coronavirus. If you trust reddit comments (if not, you probably shouldn’t trust MP comments either, so the point is kind of moot,) it’s totally safe:

https://www.reddit.com/r/chemistry/comments/6tgmkd/does_isopropyl_alcohol_dissolve_nylon/

Yes, but for external use only.

Its not supposed to go on nylon, I mean, its fine for your hands. 

Okay, but that post just asks if you can dissolve nylon. I was wondering whether it will degrade the nylon fabric in a harness or something if I spill some on it. Like how rubber bands degrade over time in air.

As far as I know, liquid chalk has been around for a very long time, and there have been zero equipment failures, whether rope, harness, or dogbones, that have been attributed to it

definitely not just for boulderers. I know people who have been using it for a long time, before anyone said coronavirus in conjunction with the word climbing

one local gym (ropes climbing) also requires liquid chalk only. Another gym (bouldering) just hands out to everyone a small spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol, minus any chalk. Works just fine...

If you read that data it shows effects after a 48 hour soak period.
That, and there are different types of nylons used in equipment along with other plastics.

You'll be fine. Seriously.
Just dont bathe your harness in IPA??

It’s safer than a dropped carabiner with microfractures.

Brian K wrote: Does anybody know if isopropyl alcohol can have adverse effects on nylon?

TL/DR - you are going to be fine.

Nylon 6.6 is used to make climbing ropes.
Isopropanol ( IPA ) is aliphatic alcohol, Nylon 6.6 has good resistance to aliphatic alcohols. 

Read about Nylon 6.6 here - http://www.goodfellow.com/E/Polyamide-Nylon-6-6.html - there is notice about alcohols
Here is one more resistance chart listing resistance as "B", read what it means - https://www.plasticsintl.com/chemical-resistance-chart
And one more, specifically mentioned IPA http://www.hangerlok.com/assets/pdf/nylon66_chem_resist.pdf

What do you think nondairy coffee creamer is made out of?

Brian K wrote: My local climbing gym has reopened with some new covid-related restrictions in place. One requirement is that we use liquid chalk. Now, I've never really given much thought to liquid chalk because it's too damn expensive, but as I was mixing up a batch for myself I wondered how safe isopropyl alcohol is for nylon.

According to this page isopropyl alcohol has a "severe effect" on nylon: https://www.calpaclab.com/nylon-chemical-compatibility-chart/

Of course, I'm not a chemist so I may be misinterpreting the meaning of this table. I also haven't yet bothered to check other common climbing fabrics such as spectra or kevlar because if nylon is a problem that would be a show stopper for me. Does anybody know if isopropyl alcohol can have adverse effects on nylon? Was liquid chalk invented just for boulderers or something? I assume I would have heard something a long time ago if this was a potential problem, right?

Liquid chalk is usually ethyl alcohol, not isopropyl. 

Nathan wrote:

Liquid chalk is usually ethyl alcohol, not isopropyl. 

I don't know about "usually" but the stuff I use (Friction Labs Secret Stuff) is IPA based.

Gunkiemike wrote:

I don't know about "usually" but the stuff I use (Friction Labs Secret Stuff) is IPA based.

The secret stuff is hops. 

As a chemist, it's completely fine... Would it cause problems if you soaked a sling or something in a bucket of IPA yes, but the amount that you would get from liquid chalk (which is meant to evaporate on your hands) is minimal and unlikely to cause issues.

James H wrote:

As a chemist, it's completely fine... Would it cause problems if you soaked a sling or something in a bucket of IPA yes, but the amount that you would get from liquid chalk (which is meant to evaporate on your hands) is minimal and unlikely to cause issues.

As a chemist, is there any issue with the chalk itself? I know someone who's liquid chalk exploded in their pack, and soaked their rope.

Nathan wrote:

As a chemist, is there any issue with the chalk itself? I know someone who's liquid chalk exploded in their pack, and soaked their rope.

No reason I can think of to worry about the chalk on the rope other than the messy handling.

Nathan wrote:

As a chemist, is there any issue with the chalk itself? I know someone who's liquid chalk exploded in their pack, and soaked their rope.

In terms of the chalk itself I would just wash it and see how it looks but it shouldn't cause any lasting damage. As Gunkiemike says it would likely affect the handling and add wear on any gear it runs though but it shouldn't damage the rope. Once you've washed it you could also check to do see if there's any issues from the IPA but I would doubt it unless it was a really large volume of liquid chalk. 

Hope that helps!

Drederek wrote: What do you think nondairy coffee creamer is made out of?

Liquid chalk and nylon?

Hey guys. Full disclosure - I own a liquid chalk company. www.midnightlightning.co

That being said, I have learned a fair bit about liquid chalk (more than one should lol), and I'm happy to share.

Most liquid chalk using isopropyl alchoal isn't so much of a worry when it comes to handling gear, as the isopropyl alcohol evaporates very quickly (seconds) once applied, especially when it is in the 60-80% concentration range, as with almost all liquid chalks. Higher the concentration, the faster it evaporates. Even if a fair bit is dropped on gear, it should evaporate fast enough that there would not be any effect. As mentioned above.. soaking your gear for hours in Iopropyl alcohol is another thing altogether.

Ingesting / drinking... isopropyl alcohol is extremely dangerous. Just don't. It will not cure you of covid.

Irritation / Skin contact... This is where things get a little more interesting. It is extremely rare to have an allergic reaction to chalk or isoproply alcohol. It's almost unheard of in fact. It's the other stuff in liquid chalks that you need to watch out for - specifically rosins which are added as a grip enhancer to most liquid chalks. Millions of people have contact allergies relating to rosins - so if you get itchy hands after using liquid chalk, this is most likely the culprit, especially as some liquid chalks have a LOT of rosin in them (that sticky feeling after washing your hands... that is the rosin). Rosin goes by the names "Styrax Benzonin Gum" or "Colophonium" in most commercial chalks. It can also be listed as Pine Resin / Rosin.

Oh.. one other thing. Rosin is also pretty nasty when it comes to caking up holds... maybe not as much of an issue 10 years ago, but now with exponentially more people using liquid chalk outdoors, it is a matter of concern. Using chalks containing rosin's should be avoided when bouldering or climbing outdoors. The residue build up is extrmely hard to remove and results in over-brushing and polishing. No bueno. We actually made the decision to remove all rosin from our products in an effort to help protect our climbs.

Show them this: https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/news/2020/september/research-shows-climbing-chalk-is-unlikely-to-transmit-coronavirus.aspx

It's only one study but chalk isn't high on my list of worries.

Pof est verboten!