Red Mold on Dock Lines

[jviss]

I have some really nice, hardly used, braided dock lines. One has a lot of red discoloration on it, that I've been told is mold.

Does anyone know how to remove this without damaging the line?

Thanks,

jv

 

[tjar]

Put it in a mesh laundry bag and throw it in the washer.

 

[dlochner]

Soak it in some borax and detergent. Then rinse well or follow @tjar 's washing method. The borax will kill the mold, the detergent will clean it. If the line is stained, Oxy-Clean is a better choice than Chlorine based bleaches.

 

[rgranger]

Any chance that it is rust? On my slip there is a leak in the shore side water spigot and it drips rusty water on one of my dock lines. It is all rusty now. If it is rust, you need oxalic acid. Many products have it but Rit rust remover is probably the easiest to get your hands on.

 

[thinwater]

Any chance that it is rust? On my slip there is a leak in the shore side water spigot and it drips rusty water on one of my dock lines. It is all rusty now. If it is rust, you need oxalic acid. Many products have it but Rit rust remover is probably the easiest to get your hands on.

I would not use acid on nylon. Strong acids literally dissolve nylon, and weak acids take a heavy toll. This is a specific weakness of nylon. In fact, it is one way you can identify nylon. Google it.

 

[Parsons]

I wash my lines at least annually and wash in a laundry bag as per @tjar . A shot of fabric softener helps with the 'hand' and does not affect the line strength (so I've been told). I agree with @thinwater - you don't want to destroy the line strength to correct some cosmetic issue, and acid on most flexible materials (excl. polyethylene) is bad. Bleach or oxy-clean will remove colors if not set in the material, and line coloring is well set-in so go ahead. If you've ever felt really stiff dock lines, particularly triple-braid, it's often because they are simply dirty or salt encrusted. An annual bath fixes this.