urushiol contamination

for clothing, climbing shoes, etc, what do  you use for cleaning if your gear is exposed to urushiol from poison ivy, poison oak, etc?    I am considering a pan of dish soap for my shoes but have not really dealt with this situation before.

I'm not super-sensitive to poison ivy but I have gotten it several times. I've never had an issue getting it second hand off my gear or shoes. I would throw your clothes in the laundry, wipe off your gear and shoes with a rag and throw that in as well. Did your rope drag through PI while climbing? You might consider washing that as well.

Just put your clothes in the washing machine. The oils will wear off of your shoes.  If it's on your skin, then I would use some Technu.  Even if you're allergic/sensitive to PO, it's not that big of a deal if it's on your clothes. Stay calm!

I think I've gotten poison oak from my dog's fur and my rope.

For cloth: Chemically, urishiol is an oil and interacts with detergents just like any oil--in short, normal detergents are completely fine and effective for this. With ropes/dogbones/slings, you might consider rope wash from one of the rope companies--I'm not aware of any differences between this and normal detergents, but the rope companies might know something I don't and I'm not about to play around with my life. The only thing I would do different from a normal wash is maybe use more detergent than usual, and wash it twice.

Urishiol on leather and rubber for shoes is a bit harder to deal with. The La Sportiva Oxygyms are the only shoes I'm aware of that can be washed, and you're probably not climbing in those outside. The good news is that urishiol will eventually break down with exposure, so if you get most of the urishiol off, the rest will eventually decompose. White vinegar doesn't work as well as detergent for cutting oils, but the benefit is it evaporates completely, so I would use white vinegar to wipe down your shoes, air dry them with a box fan to minimize the vinegar breaking down leather/cloth.

You can put Tecnu in the washing machine with the clothes.  For gear, etc I use rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle.  Put gloves on spray things down and wipe them off.  If I climb in Austin in the summer typically I walk through or have poison ivy on a route and have to do this process every time.  

Dawn is excellent for skin and and shoes (apply to a rag and wipe down leather). Normal detergent for anything that can go in the wash.

I don’t have much to add about poison ivy specifically but I do have a experience washing my synthetic shoes.  I used to wash my Evolvs every other week or so when I was climbing a lot.  It keeps them smelling fresh and I’m pretty sure the rubber came out of the washer stickier than it went in, at least it was chalk/dirt free for a few minutes when they first went back on.  I’d wash them with cool or warm water, never hot water, and then I’d let them air dry.  I imagine this would work for any synthetic shoe but I wouldn’t do the same thing on my leather shoes.

Fire; it's the only way

great youtube video about it, it is like a sticky oil like grease

strong soap  and scrubbing with a brush or the like