ways to clean caving ropes

[NZcaver]

madratdan said:

Did someone mention we were off topic

My fault - sorry.

Funny though - sometimes when discussions go off-topic, they get more interesting...

"Oh, and once or twice I have been known to clean my ascenders/harness/cowstails etc with a pressure washer as well" he says, in a desperate attempt to segway back on topic... ;D

[naclydogg]

verticaver said:

In our opinion, the best way to clean your ropes is with a pressure washer. There have never been any findings to indicate that the particles get punched deeper into the rope, causing premature wear. Bruce Smith, author of the book On Rope cleans his miles of rope in a huge mat on the driveway with his pressure washer, it gets them almost back to clean as new. The myths about pressure washers being bad for ropes turns out are unfounded. Our new website will debunk it & 20 other myths of ropework once up & running soon.


Chad Dubuisson
Production Manager
On Rope 1, Inc.

I was reading about the pressure washing myth on the On Rope site. I have damaged the sheath on a rope I was cleaning with a pressure washer by getting the water stream too close to the rope. It wasn't a climbing rope, it was a polyester yacht braid. Sure made it clean though.

[Brian Roebuck]

There is a limit to how much pressure any material can withstand. For example steel can be cut using very high pressure water jets. So to say that any pressure washer can be safely used to clean caving rope is not perfectly accurate. That said - most home pressure washers lack the high pressures needed to damage the rope strands. The initial argument was that grit was forced deep into the ropes core through the sheath by pressure washers. On Rope 1 and some others have not found evidence to support that argument so far. I imagine other types of rope can be more easily damaged though so care should be taken to experiment with small pieces of rope that can be cut apart and examined after getting them dirty and pressure washing them before jumping to any conclusions. If your life depends on it you should do the homework to make sure you stay safe!

[eyecave]

i like to put the rope in the bathtub and shower with it.....it sometimes takes a few showers to get it clean enough and it doesn't make the rope as clean as a pressure washer would....

i also try to rinse the rope off in the last available water in or near the cave......

[Rick Brinkman]

I've use a steam cleaner (pressure washer with some heat) since I started caving. Cleans the rope, packs, kneepads, etc. great!

That being said, I once used my uncle's regular (cold water) pressure washer (much higher pressure than what I was used to) to clean my gear. I started with my cotton coveralls (not the rope thank God) and ruined them in about 30 seconds. The high pressure tore right through the fabric.

When using a pressure washer you need to take care not to get the nozzle too close.

[Brian Roebuck]

Hmmm,

Combining the last two posts it appears that a hot tub with powerful jest is just the thing for cleaning ropes! ;D

Further justification for hot tubs...

[geoff]

I wash using a UK standard home washing machine, no soap (whats the point, there is no grease in UK caves), but I add a teaspoon of fabric conditioner (it may or may not help, but wont harm) and use maximum 30 deg C wash (ie cool as I can). I chain link the rope to stop tangles ......and program an extra rince

Ive never done it, but would be quite happy pressure washing my 10mm and 9.5mm rope as I understand tests show no grit remains in the core.

For the left and right hand ascender issue .... whatever you wish. I use right hand and have NEVER had a problem or heard of any one else having difficulty; its a non-issue in the UK as far as I know. The 'handle' is a debatable point, but on the whole Im keeping mine.

Petzl Pantin is a lovely bit of kit to use and really helps ( Im told women particularly benefit from the increased SRT efficiency ). Personally this was a very well worth buy for me and I never cave without one.