Rope cleaning

[UrbanForester88]

After climbing lots of pines, my rope has gotten a lot of heavy sap and resin in large spots on my rope. I was wondering if anybody has an easy way to remove this crude off of my rope. The Sherrill website isn't going into enough detail for me. Are there any old Arborist remedies for this?

 

[StihlRockin']

I've been fortunate enough to not get enough sap on my equip to matter, so knock on wood. However, I've heard of some good remedies:

1.) Nail polish remover
2.) Rubbing alcohol
3.) Mayonnaise (I think because of the vinegar)

Anyway, I wouldn't try these on climbing ropes unless I got the "ok" that these cleaning remedies are not caustic and damaging to my ropes.

Hope one of them helps.

StihlRockin'

 

[Hddnis]

One of the rope makers says to use acetone. Sorry I don't remember which one off the top of my head. That info is contained in a thread here.

I use alcohol and rags to clean up my ropes and equipment when working with sappy trees. It works well and is close to acetone in how it works.



Mr. HE

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Daisy chain them into the wash, let them soak for a while then run them on warm cycle.

 

[outofmytree]

Daisy chain them into the wash, let them soak for a while then run them on warm cycle.

If your washer has an agitator stuff em into an old pillow case before you put them in.

Ensure you rinse thoroughly. I have experienced the thrill of soap induced sliding on a friction hitch. I invented some new curse words.

 

[outofmytree]

One of the rope makers says to use acetone. Sorry I don't remember which one off the top of my head. That info is contained in a thread here.

I use alcohol and rags to clean up my ropes and equipment when working with sappy trees. It works well and is close to acetone in how it works.



Mr. HE

Acetone is one of the principle ingredients of nail polish remover. I would not use anything that caustic on my climbing line as I simply cannot say for certain that it will not damage the rope.

 

[treemandan]

After climbing lots of pines, my rope has gotten a lot of heavy sap and resin in large spots on my rope. I was wondering if anybody has an easy way to remove this crude off of my rope. The Sherrill website isn't going into enough detail for me. Are there any old Arborist remedies for this?

Try a friction saver if you are doing a lot of pine.

An easy way to get the sap off your stuff is to go climb an oak after you do the pine. Works everytime.
Now if you really have to wash the equipment ( fuel spill, dog crap, etc), just stick it a bucket of warm/hot water and use some of that stuff, I forget what its called - oh yeah, SOAP. I would use laundry soap, maybe even some of that oxyboost depending on how bad the contamination is. And I use the word contamination here cause if the rope is not actually contaminated it don't need to be cleaned. rinse the same way til the water is free from soap.

 

[Hddnis]

Acetone is one of the principle ingredients of nail polish remover. I would not use anything that caustic on my climbing line as I simply cannot say for certain that it will not damage the rope.

Yes, and it comes packaged in the same kind of plastic that your rope is made out of.

This thread starts to explain it. http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=42103&highlight=ropes+acetone



Mr. HE

 

[pdqdl]

Acetone is not caustic AT ALL. It is a neutral solvent.

Most folks think that it is a vile dangerous chemical because it is very offensive to your health, it is highly flammable, and it is a VERY effective solvent for many organic materials. Unlike water, which is very "Polar", acetone has different properties that make it very effective on pine sap.

It might also damage some ropes by dissolving the material they are made of, so I would try a washing machine first. Buying enough acetone to wash a rope would be expensive.

If I had a real sappy rope, and laundry didn't get it off, I would use paint thinner to dissolve the sap, then put the rope through the laundry again after the thinner has evaporated.


I used to wash greasy coveralls & grease rags in gasoline (back when it was cheaper and I didn't have a uniform service). We would soak the offensive fabric in a 5 gallon bucket of gas, then splash it around until mostly clean. Then wring it out, and throw in the washer. I told one of my guys how to do this once, and I told him to make sure that the lid on the washer did not get closed until the spin cycle came up, 'cause the gasoline vapors were explosive. He didn't listen, it blew up the washing machine. BIG BOOM, but the lid just banged up against the wall, and the washer kept working!

If you wash your rope following acetone, paint thinner, or gasoline, leave the lid open until the spin cycle!

 

[outofmytree]

Acetone is not caustic AT ALL. It is a neutral solvent.

Most folks think that it is a vile dangerous chemical because it is very offensive to your health, it is highly flammable, and it is a VERY effective solvent for many organic materials. Unlike water, which is very "Polar", acetone has different properties that make it very effective on pine sap.

It might also damage some ropes by dissolving the material they are made of, so I would try a washing machine first. Buying enough acetone to wash a rope would be expensive.

If I had a real sappy rope, and laundry didn't get it off, I would use paint thinner to dissolve the sap, then put the rope through the laundry again after the thinner has evaporated.


I used to wash greasy coveralls & grease rags in gasoline (back when it was cheaper and I didn't have a uniform service). We would soak the offensive fabric in a 5 gallon bucket of gas, then spash it around until mostly clean. Then wring it out, and throw in the washer. I told one of my guys how to do this once, and I told him to make sure that the lid on the washer did not get closed until the spin cycle came up, 'cause the gasoline vapors were explosive. He didn't listen, it blew up the washing machine. BIG BOOM, but the lid just banged up against the wall, and the washer kept working!

If you wash your rope following acetone, paint thinner, or gasoline, leave the lid open until the spin cycle!

May I be the first to say, "holy crap!""

I frequently open my mouth to display my ignorance on various subjects, thank you for making this one glaringly obvious!

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I would never use any solvents on my ropes, I'd be concerned about degradation.

Warm water softens the pitch and detergent will emulsify. the detergents are made to not damage poly' or nylon clothes, so I'm happy to use them on the rare occasion I wash a rope. That said, we have had our high capacity front loader for three years now, and I've not used it on a rope yet.

I've enough old ropes, that that is what I use for Spruce-Pine-Fir (SPF in the lumber trades).

 

[ozzy42]

There was a pictorial on another thread on how to wash rope

As hot as it is down there I'd stay away from SS & Rope on Fridays.

:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[prana360]

rope wash

PMI has a product called Rope Wash, you can find it through WesSpur. I don't have any experience with it so can't say how it works.