cleaning ropes...

[Widow Shooter]

The thread about a rope getting run over made me think...I have never washed any of my ropes Well today i did cause I had to bare crotch just to install a high branch saver cable.

Big old nasty, mossy, real dirty crotch-ed( lol, sounds disgusting) Catalpa.

the rope was real crappy where it was over the limb and where i had to pull it over it.

So I washed it with some Ivory snow and it is drying now, looks real good

how often do you, if ever, wash your ropes?

Cary

 

[SkwerI]

Never. And I use natural crotches 95% of the time. I'll rig up a false crotch for my tie in on a sappy pine tree or something.

Brand new ropes are not very good for climbing. They need to get broke in, wear the waxy coating off and get fuzzed up a little so my friction hitch works properly. Brand new ropes cause too much friction at the hitch, which melts my hitch cord.

If you ever go to a TCC event, you'll notice the fastest climbers in the work climb usually have a rope that's broken in a bit. The guys with the brand new ropes won't do as well.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I used to wash my ropes, but I think doing that brought about a premature end to my MayTag. I've pretty much stopped washing ropes - they're mostly self cleaning, nowadays. If I really needed to get something off of it, I would blast it (hanked up) at the car wash using the rinse setting.

 

[stehansen]

I never wash mine. Don't use them everyday though.

 

[Widow Shooter]

Would love to go to a TCC event, but I don't think they have them here in Ontario

And I agree about getting all warm and fuzzy for the rope to let the FH grab better

 

[Knotahippie]

When they get really dirty, say, after it rains and things are soupy.

With woolite.

I wash em' down at the laundrymat too!

 

[Paul B]

shooter, gotta check the ISA local site, ISAO... as far as I know, EVERY chapter has a TCC which allows for them to send representatives to the ITCC.
http://www.isaontario.com/pages/treeclimb.php

 

[NeTree]

I just daisy-chain mine, and toss it in the washer with some Tide.

 

[brendonv]

I've thought about it, just never went through with it.

After working on a pine it's always in my head, but I'll forget until I run it through a deciduous tree and the stickiness is gone in no time.

Using bags helps keep them clean in the first place.

Plus, I spend enough time cleaning already.

 

[No_Bivy]

never wash plan here..........wear the sap off

I do like a new rope for moving fast though

 

[thattreeguy]

i do a lot of crappy pines, some are 2 day removals and the rope gets left overnight,so i get sapped solid black,

i use my deep soak sink, i got a wash board and some of that woolite or dreft, and scrub away , for real bad spots i use a green scrubbie and run it thru a time or two over it, sqeeze out and hang dry in the garage

 

[Ryan]

I used some brand new Safety Blue today and had to hold my hitch while I sat my weight on it for it to grab. Broken in is better.

My old climbing rope which is now a lowering rope ended up with dog crap on it so I just stood on it and pulled, hoping my boot and the grass would clean it but knowing I was just working it deeper into the rope.

 

[thattreeguy]

oh i hate dog shit, especially when it starts to have the poo smell coming up into the tree, get it on you,
ewww

definently a good time to wash a rope.

 

[Blinky]

I washed a lifeline once but giot it dirty again that same week so I haven't washed one since. They kind of self clean as you use them.

 

[sotc]

I quit washing ropes shortly after I got employees and seldom before that

 

[olyman]

went to a tree climbing school 2 weeks ago. they said to get a rope washing bag, as they are available, and use a very small amount of dishsoap and wash them in your washer. they said it wont hurt a good rope at all, as you dont want the dirt and sap on your ropes.sap holds dirt,then abrasion sets in. and dont shoot the messanger, im just relaying info. apparently the bag is like the ones women use to wash nylons,only heavier

 

[rumination]

When I worked in a rainforest I would occasionally wash my ropes when they would get REALLY muddy. Now I only wash brand new hanks of Velocity to get some of the waxy coating off.

 

[lumberjack]

It's been a while since I've washed a rope as well, mainly from a lack of need. When I do wash them it goes in the augerless washing machine.

 

[stig]

they said to get a rope washing bag, as they are available,

A regular pillow cover works fine for a washing bag. Just toss the rope inside and tie the opening off with a piece of string.

 

[Cobleskill]

I have a light rigging rope i was using for a pull rope. When the tree came over about 15 feet of the rope ended up in a ditch that was scummy. I washed it in a 5 gallon pail with some Simple Green. It was amazing to see how bright that 15 feet got. I should wash the whole thing but....

 

[thattreeguy]

dont know about simple green, ive faded paint and thing with a direct shot of it before

when you get an average of 80 to 120 inches of rain per season(depending on what side of the valley your on) your chits gonna get wet and muddy

so i do wash more in winter, just cause its wet and crappy
or dry and sappy

same as my bee lines, i keep em clean
they work smoother

its all about having the time to do it

 

[Tom_Scheller]

I wash whenever they get gunky. They go one at a time in a heavy mesh laundry bag, front load washer, light on the detergent, and cold water only. I'll give them a loose coil and hang them under a ceiling fan to dry.

 

[olyman]

I wash whenever they get gunky. They go one at a time in a heavy mesh laundry bag, front load washer, light on the detergent, and cold water only. I'll give them a loose coil and hang them under a ceiling fan to dry.

they also said if it was warm out--just lay them on a concrete--not blacktop surface, to dry,and laid loosely--not on top of itself--

 

[olyman]

dont know about simple green, ive faded paint and thing with a direct shot of it before

when you get an average of 80 to 120 inches of rain per season(depending on what side of the valley your on) your chits gonna get wet and muddy

so i do wash more in winter, just cause its wet and crappy
or dry and sappy

same as my bee lines, i keep em clean
they work smoother

its all about having the time to do it

time??? what time!!!!!

 

[thattreeguy]

yeah i know, its ahrd to find it, but when i cant move a knot on either end of the rope
its time to wash