Best way to clean dock lines/anchor lines?

[thinwater]

Wow! Intense discussion! I just did the power washer in the driveway trick. Simple, safe, cheap

Why even ask, if folks just do whatever thing comes to mind?

Powerwashing safe? That's plain silly. Of course, on a 23-foot boat strength matters little.

Bleach will weaken them ~ 5-10% each time. For what? I don't shine the tires on my car either; I would find too-clean lines embarasing, like shiny tires.

Washing does not extend the life; the washing always does more damage than the dirt would have. This has been confirmed with testing.

Fabric softener? It's designed to wash-out in water so that it doesn't build up, so it will be gone in a few rains and gone from the rode on the first use. Yes, the line is softer, but that is from the washing lossening things up. Want to replace the spinning lubricants to reduce squeaking and actually do some good? Use a wash-in water repellant treatment; PS discussed this and showed that some can last over 1 year.

________

PS did a complete review of the topic, actually testing the lines. Tip: extended soaking (no bleach) and wshing in hot water is manufacturer approved and does less damage than more vigous washing in cold or without the soaking. Machine washing (any type machine) is VERY different from use, in that the core is milked back and forth against the sheath. That does much of the damage.

 

[Quoddy]

Washing lines

I just throw them in the washer with the other cloths, no more than two at a time, or the tangle will take a lot longer to undo. No bleach or harsh chemicals of course. When I was pressure washing the deck I hit some Samson XlS and it started to rapidly fray the cover, so I would take it real easy with any pressure washing.

 

[FourPoints]

OBTW, Nylon IS UV resistant...you must be thinking of polypropylene which degrades under UV exposure.

Nylon is, but the inside of your lines are not nylon.

NE Rope's Sta-Set and Sta-Set X are polyester lines
Samson's AmSteel is made of Dyneema fibers
Samson's LS, LST, XLS, and Trophy Braid are polyester lines
Samson's MLX are high modulus polypropylene (HMPP) and Dyneema lines with a polyester cover

Except for your anchor rhode, you probably don't have any lines onboard that are 100% nylon.

 

[zeehag]

i hose em down well to remove salt build up when i am in a marina. works fine. if they are too bad i place into bucket with suds and a plunger and make too m uch work for meself, then rinse thoroughly. i have done this procedure one time since 1990.

 

[Deadline]

Stu Jackson

Who knew we had ransom note typface on this website!

 

[Ted]

Best way to clean dock lines

I can't remember where I read that power washing is one of the worst things you can do to your lines. The high pressure from the power washer drives the dirt salt and grit deep within the core of the line. Over time the grit mechanically grinds the core strands and weakens the line until one day you have a catastrophic failure. The outside will look pretty but I wouldn't want to be hoisted up a mast in a bosuns chair with it.

 

[Sail123]

Interesting topic and responses.

To the guy that says dirt has been proven to not harm lines, open up your Rolex and sprinkle some dust inside. NOT! Clean is where no damage rests. Any dirt does do some harm. Clean is better.

I am shocked no one has mentioned OxyClean. Sold at walmart and walgreens. Follow directions on label. Put lines, ropes into a laundry bag and wash on warn / hot ish water. This works at whitening your sails also, but you will need the size of a commercial machine.

It is also a good idea to braid your lines to keep them from turning into a big big big mess.

This is a "Before" shot of 3/4" line headed to my washing machine with OxyClean and laundry detergent. Will update with an "After" shot in a couple hours.

Update after washing line. .....before.........................................................after

 

[Benny17441]

I have always soaked them in a bucket with a mild detergent for a few days and then rinse them out with a garden hose before allowing them to dry. It is not so much that you may be extending their useful life but the fact that dirty and mildewd lines make a boat look like crap. Keeping a presentable boat goes a long way in determining how you may be treated by others.

 

[thinwater]

Interesting topic and responses.

To the guy that says dirt has been proven to not harm lines, open up your Rolex and sprinkle some dust inside. NOT! Clean is where no damage rests. Any dirt does do some harm. Clean is better.

I didn't say or imply that dirt was harmless, I said that common laundry methods have been shown to do more damage. It turns out to be a fairly fine line; can you dig the bullet from the soldier's chest without killing him? Often, not. And it is not surface dirt that does harm, other than to one's senses; it is the dirt deep within, which is often more damaging to remove.

That is the puzzel. For most of us, benign neglect is better than active persuit. I'm not making this up; we broke many samples in the lab.

 

[Steve Dion]

WADR, that's a "heavily labor intensive" way to do something a lot simpler as suggested by others.

Bleach? Sure, do it your way, it's your boat and your lines. But, I gotta tell ya, there have been many, many times when we've written:

DON'T SAY WE DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!

Stu: Maybe he made a mistake and it was supposed to be 1 cup of water to a gallon of bleach.

Now that we have harassed our fellow sailors here is a cleaning tip from NE Rope.

" Dirt and Cleaning
Dirt and salt can cause premature wear. Frequently wash rope and running rigging with fresh water. For a more thorough cleaning, soak your rope in warm water mixed with a mild detergent. Add a small amount of fabric softener to soften the rope. When possible, use a front loading washing machine; wash your rope in a mesh bag or pillowcase to avoid tangling. Rinse thoroughly and hang to dry in indirect sunlight. Note: the washing of new / unused rope should be performed by hand wash only."

Now there is no reason to say DON'T SAY WE DIDN'T WARN YOU!!!

 

[Sail123]

I didn't say or imply that dirt was harmless, I said that common laundry methods have been shown to do more damage. It turns out to be a fairly fine line; can you dig the bullet from the soldier's chest without killing him? Often, not. And it is not surface dirt that does harm, other than to one's senses; it is the dirt deep within, which is often more damaging to remove.

That is the puzzel. For most of us, benign neglect is better than active persuit. I'm not making this up; we broke many samples in the lab.

The first years was active pursuit that later turned to benign neglect with a few years of crying mixed in. I eventually quit sobbing about my marriage. . Lol

 

[Ken13559]

Hmmmm.... I wonder if my front load home washer would work for my main sheets.

YES. That will do. Also my shoes, bags, anything that needed washing goes into the front loader as well.

 

[SeaTR]

Is it that important that the lines be sparkling white? If they're old and stiff, a wash with a gentle detergent and maybe some fabric softener will remove embedded dirt, extend their life and improve their "hand". A pillow case in a wash machine prevents tangling and snags. If you've got thimbles and such, put 'em in a trash can and stir it around with a paddle. If they're a little grey when they come out of the wash, who cares. It's not a fashion show.

But hey, it's your money.

It's not so much that I want my pendants "sparkling white", but rather clean enough for close inspection to determine at the end of the season if they are degraded to the point of making up new ones for the next season.

Yes, it's my money, and it's limited for this salvage 1981 H22, which I have been workiing on and off for the past 4 years; maybe many of you have more than I to spend on this activity... hence I don't want to spend unnecessarily each season on various items. Yet, taking the time to inspect them 'well enough' (my risk acceptance level) to make that determination is my primary tool.

I ALWAYS use TWO pendants because of that 'risk decision'...and they are never installed during the same year (thus having different wear histories so as not to have a "common mode" failure situation), unless a passing hurricane/tropical storm placed abnormal stress on them, then they are typically BOTH replaced regardless of inspection results ... once again, I can't afford to have my boat hauled out/in repeatedly, as I like to maintain my sailing season from May to about the first week in December (and yes, the water temp is still in the low 50's on Long Is Sound that time of year).

 

[SeaTR]

yup, strictly nylon

Nylon is, but the inside of your lines are not nylon.

NE Rope's Sta-Set and Sta-Set X are polyester lines
Samson's AmSteel is made of Dyneema fibers
Samson's LS, LST, XLS, and Trophy Braid are polyester lines
Samson's MLX are high modulus polypropylene (HMPP) and Dyneema lines with a polyester cover

Except for your anchor rhode, you probably don't have any lines onboard that are 100% nylon.

YUP, you nailed it, that's what I'm refering to. Sorry if I missed mentioning that earlier in the discussion. My mooring pendants are 5/8" 3 strand Nylon..., hence I have NO DOCK lines made of poly, polyester, Dyneema, or any of the other fibers to be concerned with.

 

[kloudie1]

No Bleach

Here is a test from Practical Sailor showing the decrease in strength of nylon dock lines after cleaning:
http://cdn.practical-sailor.com/media/newspics/bleached_line.jpg

 

[zeehag]

the lines do not need to be clean to see how much is good--just look at the integrity of those lines.

 

[finding41]

So that green stuff on my lines is good. I thought I was kind of neglecting it by letting it hang off the mast and lay on the deck. How do you feed it?
I took a 6' piece off last fall and ran it through the washing machine with my work cloths. Didn't make a big difference. There less green and more grey now. I didn't use fabric softener though. Next time fabric softener. No bleach.

 

[zeehag]

is not dirt that breaks dock lines but cleaning with wrong stuff and high winds and surf. since 1990 i havent worried about cleaning dock lines but watched as the ones who do not sail out of the dock wash em and replace em before they are fractured.
loving to spend money and finding excuses to remain at dock arent my cuppa, so i dont worry about it and i am in marina riviera nayarit, la cruz de huanacaxtle, nayarit mexico, about 2000 miles from my start point in san diego, still slooowwwly making my way south to panama in a boat that can handle the situations and sails like a dream in heavy as well as medium winds...there are no light winds here for more than a day at a time.....

 

[SeaTR]

pendants need it..

the lines do not need to be clean to see how much is good--just look at the integrity of those lines.

I DO need the 'cleaned up look' for inspecting / replacing my pendants as they are under water, overgrown, and gunky .. not easily inspected for integrity under these conditions.

 

[thinwater]

I DO need the 'cleaned up look' for inspecting / replacing my pendants as they are under water, overgrown, and gunky .. not easily inspected for integrity under these conditions.

For that sort of heavy growth, Practical Sailor determined that an over-night soak in laundry detergent followed by a scrub with a brush was much less damaging and more effective than a machine.