Conference unifix::sailing

2038.0. "Cleaning Rope" by BXCPST::FJIM::McWilliams () Wed May 26 1993 15:06

How does one go about cleaning rope (both Dacron and Nylon braid) of
both dirt and mold/algae/mildew ?

We have been dry for the past couple of years while we had babies. The
mast was stored under the deck of our house, and given the location
I have had problems with green growth on the halyards. (Our house and
deck are also blessed with this, as we have a very shady lot.)

I have washed the coils in the washing machine encased in a tied off
pillowcase to prevent the ropes from getting 'agitated' too much and
possibly unlaying, and to prevent the rope from wrapping itself around
agitator and burning out the washing machine. They were washed in warm
water, Tide, and 1.5 cups of bleach. I rinsed with Downey fabric softener
to improve the feel of the rope.

Before I bleached the ropes, I called Yale Cordage to make sure bleach
would not hurt the strength of the rope.

The problem I have is that, while the halyards are much noticeably
cleaner and softer, I have not removed all the green junk yet, and
I still have a fair amount of ground-in grime where the halyard goes
over the masthead sheave.

Any suggestions;

   a. More Bleach ?
   b. Use hot water rather than warm ?
   c. A more aggressive cleaner ?
   d. Soak em ?

What is your boatkeeping tip for keeping your lines clean ?

Jim McWilliams
ISLNDS::MCWILLIAMS

re .0:

A season of UV exposure might help. The stuff that grows under your deck may
not have experience dealing with UV :-)

--RS

    Try using a high pressure water cleaner - I have seen this done at our
    Yacht Club and this seems to do a pretty good job.
    
    Alternatively, if the ropes are a few years old, why not change them.
    
    Paul

Well the answer seems to be;

   a. Increase the water temperature (i.e. use Hot not Warm Setting)
   b. Increase the agitation         (i.e. use Normal not Gentle Cycle)
   c. Increase the Bleach Concentration (actually I used the same amount
         of bleach, just a lower water level)

I decided to experiment with the Flag Halyards, as they were the cheapest
to replace. The gentle washing machine cycle was too gentle. Using the
normal cotton cycle didn't seem to cause any damage to layment of the rope.

Now everything is clean and soft. I don't have that new rope sheen, but
eveything is back being pretty white, and I seem to have removed all the
ground in grit where the halyards go through the sheaves.

/jim 

    Another old trick for cleaning lines is to simply trail them behind the
    boat when under sail and let the salt water do the work.  It may take
    some time, but it is simple and cheap.
    
        Howard