ashtead
Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried Vanish out on these sheets etc? . We soak the genny sheets overnight in a bath of washing powder and Milton type solution which seems to help .
Soaking green off ropes - Patio Magic, Vanish, and/or biological powder?
- Thread starter Babylon
- Start date
Minerva
Well-Known Member
As a slight aside, is patio magic safe to use of steering wheel leather? Of what’s the best way of getting that less green and more silvered leather?
Babylon
Well-Known Member
I put my sheets through the machine on 40deg with a dose of biological and a dose of Vanish, they came out clean.
I did the same with the lazyjacks (which are white with flecks but had the most green on them) and they came out almost completely clean but with a faint green hue residue on them plus on some white-based halyards that were also in on that wash. A second wash should clean this off completely.
ducked
Well-Known Member
Did a triple rinse in a bucket using a sink plunger for agitation. Rinse water still rather green but i got bored, and er indoors wanted a shower.
Im now thinking live algal residue probably wont do much harm, but dead algal residue might feed mould, which could damage both the rope and me, so that perhaps contraindicates biocides.
Now strung between clothes posts in the back green.
Im now thinking live algal residue probably wont do much harm, but dead algal residue might feed mould, which could damage both the rope and me, so that perhaps contraindicates biocides.
Now strung between clothes posts in the back green.
dunedin
Well-Known Member
One way to find out - choose a small out of the way patch and paint it on, then report back in a few weeks.
Suspect will be OK, but I wouldn’t apply without doing a test patch first (as we did on our sprayhood)
PS We have wheel covers which are used when leaving the boat, these covers do need some Patio Magic after the winter.
lustyd
Well-Known Member
It’s safe for the leather yes. Wash thoroughly after a week and don’t use the wheel in the mean time without being careful as it isn’t safe for human consumption (snacks at the helm after steering)
Airscrew
Well-Known Member
Sodium Percarbonate
is a bio and eco friendly 'eco bleach'. It becomes active in Oxygen, a little like the Oxi/pink stuff, but cheaper by volume.
Sail Lofts use it for sail cleaning, as do I.Excellent stuff.
For goodness sake, dont use patio magic, or pay thru the nose for Vanish.
Affordable at Amazon:
Amazon.co.uk
merjan
Well-Known Member
Not sure how to read this. Would battery acid eat through Polyester and Dyneema with no problems, or acids don't cause any problems to Polyester and Dyneema?
ducked
Well-Known Member
Those sheets came up not bad. A thicker main sheet similary solid green and crusty soaked with Tide liquid 24 hrs and then trampled in the shower (awkward since it still had a block attached) seemed to start shedding fibres, suggesting its probably had it.
It seems to have been originally white, giving it an unfortunate current resemblance to weathered dog shite.
Depending on cost I favor replaceing with GREEN ROPE.
Why doesnt everyone?
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RunAgroundHard
Well-Known Member
I don’t particularly like green on a boat, so not likely to want a green sheet or halyards. There is a sort of colour code on my boat, which does differentiate lines. That’s two reason in my case, in answer to your question. A third reason is that I am quite conservative and green would be to stray too far from a self imposed status quo. Apparently anything with a green hue does not promote good luck. Sailing superstitions: 13 things never to do at sea! - YBW
dunedin
Well-Known Member
Because it is very quick and simple to keep ropes clean and free from green marks using the likes of Patio Magic, and I prefer being able to see if ropes have got dirty so can clean.
ducked
Well-Known Member
If they got as dirty as these ropes (which have been exposed for about 5 years) I think youd be able to tell with eyes shut. Id think green rope is likely to get jess algae in the core, since there ought to be less photosynthetic radiation available. More importantly, perhaps, Id suspect UV damage will vary with colour, though I dunno whats likely to be best. Black? Probably not white anyway.
ducked
Well-Known Member
But what of the famed Luck Of The Irish?
ducked
Well-Known Member
Green halyard (or is it blue? IIRC it looks green IRL but I'll check tomorrow) got left iup when I was here last year )cant remember why) and has been left up this year in case
its useful for dropping the mast, so its had about 1.5 years more exposure than the crusty cordage Im washing at the moment. It has some algal staining, but MUCH less.
Could be coincidence, of course.
its useful for dropping the mast, so its had about 1.5 years more exposure than the crusty cordage Im washing at the moment. It has some algal staining, but MUCH less.Could be coincidence, of course.
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Babylon
Well-Known Member
Having washed everything in the machine as previously described, I now need a new topping-lift, and new main and heads'l halyards, as the washing-machine action resulted in hernias, principally in those areas where the rigging is subject to most wear in practice by the same area being worn over blocks time and again (e.g. topping-lift), but also close to the hard-eyes where the rope is stiffer due to the splicing - where the first soft part of the rest of the rope got overworked by the hard bit being knocked about in the oscillating action of the machine!
It's not a major disaster as these ropes were at least 20 years old (but maybe much older still?!) and due for replacement, BUT it is a warning to maybe not wash in the machine, instead just soak off grime and green in a tub using choice of detergent etc.
The other thing my rigger said was that washing ropes in a machine causes them to both get thicker and to shorten slightly.
It's not a major disaster as these ropes were at least 20 years old (but maybe much older still?!) and due for replacement, BUT it is a warning to maybe not wash in the machine, instead just soak off grime and green in a tub using choice of detergent etc.
The other thing my rigger said was that washing ropes in a machine causes them to both get thicker and to shorten slightly.
Muddy32
Well-Known Member
Just tow it behind in seawater.
Babylon
Well-Known Member
Not very feasible when you need your running rigging to actually sail.
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
Apparently salt can act as a deterrent for mould and algae. Being deliquescent it dries out the moisture on which mould and algae depend.
Obviously, that is not going to remove existing staining, and on a boat (especially somewhere like the UK) it is difficult to keep ropes dry. I notice, though, that it is the tails of halyards at the mast - probably less salty than most boat ropes, and getting regularly wet, that get most green (not only when the boat is stored ashore?). I'm struggling to remember now sheets (likely to get more salt water/spray on them), the sections of halyards often within the mast (hence getting the chance to dry out?), or mooring lines stored in a a locker (who knows?) turning green.
The idea of this potential advantage of salt does work against the idea I've held for many years that one of the contributors to mould below deck is any salt that gets on to furniture and fabrics from oilskins and other clothing brought below absorbing and retaining moisture from the atmosphere. It does support my theory that everything is more complicated than one first thought!
Obviously, that is not going to remove existing staining, and on a boat (especially somewhere like the UK) it is difficult to keep ropes dry. I notice, though, that it is the tails of halyards at the mast - probably less salty than most boat ropes, and getting regularly wet, that get most green (not only when the boat is stored ashore?). I'm struggling to remember now sheets (likely to get more salt water/spray on them), the sections of halyards often within the mast (hence getting the chance to dry out?), or mooring lines stored in a a locker (who knows?) turning green.
The idea of this potential advantage of salt does work against the idea I've held for many years that one of the contributors to mould below deck is any salt that gets on to furniture and fabrics from oilskins and other clothing brought below absorbing and retaining moisture from the atmosphere. It does support my theory that everything is more complicated than one first thought!
LittleSister
Well-Known Member
ducked
Well-Known Member
Still a bit dog turdoid, but looks better after being between the clothes posts for a breezy 24 hours, with only a little of its algal "sheath" still intact near the block, which probably protected it from the trampling and sink plunger.
So it seems you dont need to use a washing machine to get very dirty ropes to a usable condition.
The fibre shedding seems to have been due to damage from the cam cleats built in to the mainsheet block. I'll have to see if I can avoid using these in the future, if there is a future.
So it seems you dont need to use a washing machine to get very dirty ropes to a usable condition.
The fibre shedding seems to have been due to damage from the cam cleats built in to the mainsheet block. I'll have to see if I can avoid using these in the future, if there is a future.