Rope laundering

Old Bumbulum said:
I can't understand why there should be a moriatorium on washing ropes, after all the contents of your skids are likely to be far less salubrious. Ropes can't possibly hurt a washng machine but the opposite is apparently less cetain.

One might think that a gentle wash would do them good but my rigger is not in agreement. He claims that modern ropes contain two types of core, short fibre and long fibre. He maintains that washing by machine turns long-fibre cores into short fibre and short fibre ropes into fluff.

I disbeleived this and washed some of mine last year, only to find that some of them had turned into useless balls of fluff inside a woven outer.
The better ropes had turned from stout, solid things into wishy-washy floppy things that I wouldn't trust to hold up a wishy washy thing.

He wasn't wrong!

Have a care!
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Wash them quickly when SWMBO goes shopping, they dry quick, hide them and sit quietly when see comes back as nothing has happened, may even put some washing in and get brownie points.
 
Daverw said:
Wash them quickly when SWMBO goes shopping, they dry quick, hide them and sit quietly when see comes back as nothing has happened, may even put some washing in and get brownie points.
Click to expand...
Correct. Subterfuge is the secret of a successful marriage.
 
xyachtdave said:
I found a launderette in Gillingham not too far from Chatham MDL, MYC etc and slipped in early one Saturday morning. All my 35 metre halyards complete with shackles spliced on, reefing lines etc etc went into 2 machines, plan was to get this done quickly and get out of Dodge before the locals showed up.

When the shackles starting banging on the glass doors an attendant appeared....'What you got in there?'

'Just some ropes from my boat...(changing subject), can I get you a coffee, I'm just going to get myself one?'

The start up to spin speed was interesting...!
Click to expand...

When I was an engineer in the Merchant Navy I once took two oily boilersuits to a launderette in Swansea. As I was about to start up the machine a fierce little woman appeared and began shrieking at me. I slunk away with my unwashed boilersuits, not having dared to ask for my money back. :)
 
I am allowed to use the washing machine, but use an old pillowcase - not least because any kind of rope getting past the drum guard thingy, and its knock-on effects upon the machine and our agreement, does not bear thinking about.
 
I don’t know what the fuss is, my wife has no issue with washing any boat fabric stuff including all the ropes which are all daisy chained. Never had any problems with the cores in 20 years. We use a low temp delicate wash with Costco detergent.
 
Old Bumbulum said:
I can't understand why there should be a moriatorium on washing ropes, after all the contents of your skids are likely to be far less salubrious. Ropes can't possibly hurt a washng machine but the opposite is apparently less cetain.

One might think that a gentle wash would do them good but my rigger is not in agreement. He claims that modern ropes contain two types of core, short fibre and long fibre. He maintains that washing by machine turns long-fibre cores into short fibre and short fibre ropes into fluff.

I disbeleived this and washed some of mine last year, only to find that some of them had turned into useless balls of fluff inside a woven outer.
The better ropes had turned from stout, solid things into wishy-washy floppy things that I wouldn't trust to hold up a wishy washy thing.

He wasn't wrong!

Have a care!
Click to expand...

As the Chinese man said "Velly Intellastink" dunno if he was a Chinese Laundryman but one thing I can't a-bear is dirty lines and for - well it's probably 40 odd or more years all my shore lines and most other lines come off the boat and get washed in the washing machine. Gentle 30 degrees with currently some of Tesco's finest non-bio liquid and conditioner - they come out luverly.

It's just become part of the annual ritual and only time I've had a problem was with an old braided line which had worn patches and I was trying to get one more year out of it - - the core came out of the cover - other than that - no probs.

With shackles to stop em bashing the drum which alarms the Admiral I wrap them in a pair - yes both - of a pair of heavy walking socks - seems to do the trick.

A clean supple rope is a joy to use.
 
Thanks. I washed a fairly disgusting old braided mainsheet trying to get one more year out of it and it developed a hernia towards one end, which alarmed me, and I got a new one.

I’m happy chucking three strand and braided nylon and Térylène in the washing machine but I’m scared of doing it with Dyneema and suchlike.
 
Kukri said:
Thanks. I washed a fairly disgusting old braided mainsheet trying to get one more year out of it and it developed a hernia towards one end, which alarmed me, and I got a new one.

I’m happy chucking three strand and braided nylon and Térylène in the washing machine but I’m scared of doing it with Dyneema and suchlike.
Click to expand...
I have washed my Dyneema halyards in the machine for 5 years now, 30 degrees, delicate program, with no ill effects. All the other lines have been treated that way for over 20 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top