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herites
Jan 23, 2012, 12:26 PM
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So I washed my rope. Threw into the tub filled with water and waited for the water to turn black. Strangely, it didn't. It's strange, because my rope is so dirty, that handling it gives you a nice little black chalk on your hand (no ropebag and dust at the crag) I squeezed it through my hands, again expecting dirt to spurt out. Nothing happened. Took it out of the tub and it's now drying. There was a little fine residue in the tub, but really not much.
Any advice what happened? Dirt worked itself into the rope too much and no washing could get it out, or what?
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j_ung
Jan 23, 2012, 12:30 PM
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Did you agitate it? Try this instead:
1. Fold rope in half.
2. Fold rope in half again.
3. And once more.
4. Daisy chain the whole thing.
5. Wash it in your clothes washer with nothing but warm water.
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caughtinside
Jan 23, 2012, 12:35 PM
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You didn't wash your rope. You soaked it in a tub. j_ung is right, you have to agitate it.
I did the tub method once. Put it in there, then stomp all over it. your water will turn black quickly. I found this method works ok, but there are a couple side effects. 1, the rope won't be evenly clean. Some spots will be nice and clean, and others will still be dingy where they didn't get water squeezed through. 2. Any soap scum on the tub will turn black from the dirt and oxide in the rope, and your tub will be filthy. This will piss off your girlfriend, and then you will have to scrub the tub.
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herites
Jan 23, 2012, 12:38 PM
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Sadly, thats not going work:
Unremovable residue due to my girlfriend being lazy to clean and me not really caring.
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billcoe_
Jan 23, 2012, 1:42 PM
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herites wrote: So I washed my rope. Threw into the tub filled with water and waited for the water to turn black. Strangely, it didn't. It's strange, because my rope is so dirty, that handling it gives you a nice little black chalk on your hand (no ropebag and dust at the crag) I squeezed it through my hands, again expecting dirt to spurt out. Nothing happened. Took it out of the tub and it's now drying. There was a little fine residue in the tub, but really not much. Any advice what happened? Dirt worked itself into the rope too much and no washing could get it out, or what?
Washing machine, a little woolite, cold water then run it on delicate and it will be clean.
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6pacfershur
Jan 23, 2012, 3:48 PM
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ive always heard the urban climbing myth to use a front-loader when washing your rope and never use a top loader with agitator....try as i might, i cant find any documented instance of a top loader actually damaging a rope but suppose its possible; its also possible the rope might damage the machine
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edge
Jan 23, 2012, 4:22 PM
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6pacfershur wrote: ive always heard the urban climbing myth to use a front-loader when washing your rope and never use a top loader with agitator....try as i might, i cant find any documented instance of a top loader actually damaging a rope but suppose its possible; its also possible the rope might damage the machine
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johnwesely
Jan 23, 2012, 4:39 PM
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herites wrote: Sadly, thats not going work: Unremovable residue due to my girlfriend being lazy to clean and me not really caring.
If the residue is unremoveable, it probably isn't going to remove itself on your rope.
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jae8908
Jan 23, 2012, 8:37 PM
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edge wrote: 6pacfershur wrote: ive always heard the urban climbing myth to use a front-loader when washing your rope and never use a top loader with agitator....try as i might, i cant find any documented instance of a top loader actually damaging a rope but suppose its possible; its also possible the rope might damage the machine Just daisy chain the rope like j-ung suggests, toss it in a large mesh stuff sack, and you're good to go.
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dan2see
Jan 23, 2012, 9:58 PM
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I toss my rope into the washing machine, with a little woolite, and run it on gentle or short cycle. That will get all the dirt and pine-gum and aluminum out. After the spin, I hang it on the line to dry.
It's a simple procedure, I never do anything special, and it works great!
It looks silly on the clothesline in the back yard, but that's where it goes.
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j_ung
Jan 24, 2012, 5:05 AM
Post #12 of 23
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edge wrote: 6pacfershur wrote: ive always heard the urban climbing myth to use a front-loader when washing your rope and never use a top loader with agitator....try as i might, i cant find any documented instance of a top loader actually damaging a rope but suppose its possible; its also possible the rope might damage the machine Just daisy chain the rope like j-ung suggests, toss it in a large mesh stuff sack, and you're good to go.
I'd actually advise against the stuff sack, since it unbalances the machine.
The reason for the supposed damage is the spin cycle, which'll either kink your rope into an unrecognizable mess or become wound so tight that your machine will explode. The daisy chain solves both problems.
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robdotcalm
Jan 24, 2012, 10:16 AM
Post #13 of 23
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Why is Woolite better than a small amount of ordinary washing machine detergent? Maybe there's some evidence for this, but it's always struck me as an urban rumor?
rob.calm
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j_ung
Jan 24, 2012, 11:12 AM
Post #14 of 23
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robdotcalm wrote: Why is Woolite better than a small amount of ordinary washing machine detergent? Maybe there's some evidence for this, but it's always struck me as an urban rumor? rob.calm
I use warm water with no soap.
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DrNubbins
Jan 24, 2012, 12:10 PM
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robdotcalm wrote: Why is Woolite better than a small amount of ordinary washing machine detergent? Maybe there's some evidence for this, but it's always struck me as an urban rumor? rob.calm
My experience with Woolite is that it gave my rope a sticky feel, even after several rinses, without making the rope look any cleaner. Two runs through the gentle cycle without detergent seems to work quite well though.
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markcarlson
Jan 24, 2012, 1:00 PM
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I've used this method on two ropes with excellent results:
- Daisy chain rope, tie it off really well, do not use a bag
- Use the cheapest front-loader at the laundromat (wash something else in there first if you are worried about chemical residue)
- Use a mild detergent, but don't over-do it. I used one scoop of some powdered detergent that is supposed to rinse out easily. It's the same stuff I use if I have to hand-wash something made of wool.
- Wash, then let them dry in a pile on the floor for 3 days with no sunlight or heat
They ended up a little shorter and stiffer, but no different than when they get soaked while ice climbing.
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tH1e-swiN1e
Jan 25, 2012, 7:59 AM
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I use the Beal rope brush. I like it.
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marc801
Jan 25, 2012, 8:03 AM
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I've washed many ropes many times - never used detergent or soap of any type. All you're trying to do is get dirt particles out. Don't sweat the AlO2 from the biners - it will just come back fairly quickly, and doesn't really affect the rope. Plain water works fine.
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coastal_climber
Jan 26, 2012, 8:05 AM
Post #19 of 23
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Top loaders have agitators that clothes can get wound around. I'm sure you've had it happen, same thing could happen with your rope.
Front loaders only have the drum and paddles.
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bill413
Feb 7, 2012, 1:05 PM
Post #20 of 23
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When I've used the bathtub method I agitated the rope by daisy chaining it from one end (while in the water), reached the other end, re-chained it from that end back to the first, repeated until you realize that maybe a clean rope isn't worth this.
It worked reasonably well.
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fitzontherocks
Feb 7, 2012, 2:04 PM
Post #21 of 23
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I've ONLY used top-loaders (just never came across a front-loader). When I did NOT daisy chain the rope, it turned into an impossible vomit of tangles. Huge PITA to untangle. Daisy chaining (and tieing the ends) makes the rope effectively shorter and the bigger mass doesn't tangle. I actually arrange the daisy chained rope evenly around the agitator. And a "heavy duty" washer helps. Would hate to do it in one of those apartment or stackable types.
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granite_grrl
Feb 7, 2012, 4:13 PM
Post #22 of 23
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6pacfershur wrote: ive always heard the urban climbing myth to use a front-loader when washing your rope and never use a top loader with agitator....try as i might, i cant find any documented instance of a top loader actually damaging a rope but suppose its possible; its also possible the rope might damage the machine
I've always used our top loaded. We always daisy chain it, but have never had any damage to our ropes or our machine.
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shockabuku
Feb 7, 2012, 6:34 PM
Post #23 of 23
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The black comes from aluminum that rubs off your biners, not the dirt. Soaking won't remove it as aluminum is not very soluble in water. Pre-rinse your washing machine then throw the rope in there with some rope wash. Works great.
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