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The Effect of Dirt on Climbing Ropes

cjr4497

cjr4497

Active Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2020
Messages
121
Sooooo, this made me want to wash my climbing ropes. I have always known dirt in 12 strand dyneema is a big deal and have washed my winch ropes fairly regularly. I didn't realize it was a thing with climbing ropes. The video is fairly long. The very end is very important if you decide to wash.

 
Thanks for the video. This is the same reason I cringe when you see parents let kids write in the dirt on cars. It's mostly little ground up rocks.

Before and after season, I gently hand wash my gear and lay it flat to dry. PMI makes rope soap but before that I just used a small amount of Dawn. Some guys use hunter soaps, but I don't know what is in them and some claim "enzymes", so I avoid that. If a buck smells old Dawn on my rope, then he deserves to win that day.
 
One bit of redemption for hunters is, our dirt the ropes get exposed to is largely organic. Tree bark and moss etc. that doesn't have same abrasive properties as sand or chalk dust. Nevertheless, washing ropes is good idea. I've used mild dose of unscented, sensitive and hyper allergenic laundry detergent that doesn't contain any bleaching ingredients. Before commercial rope wash products filled the market, that was fairly common solution to use.

Circular rope brush will give much cleaner result, sort of whisker biscuit looking thing.
 
This is a very well studied area. Some manufacturer's recommend you do NOT wash your rope. And if you do, use rope specific wash. You should only be washing your rope if it's interfering with use.

Once dirt is in your rope, it's not coming out and can reduce MBS up to 50%
 
TreeRecon said:
This is a very well studied area. Some manufacturer's recommend you do NOT wash your rope. And if you do, use rope specific wash. You should only be washing your rope if it's interfering with use.

Once dirt is in your rope, it's not coming out and can reduce MBS up to 50%
Click to expand...
What are your thoughts on our application? I have just replaced after 2 seasons of use or rather repurposed to other non-hunting uses.
 
If you followed your rope manufacture's suggestions, should be fine. A visual check will usually be enough to let you know.

For 2 seasons: You would have to be pretty negligent to get an amount of dirt in your rope that would get into the core and weaken it.

If you're not dropping it in mud filled puddles and always doing proper rope management, you should be ok.

When Teufelberger did these tests, they submerged the rope in the dirt mixture. I was surprised at the MBS loss to be honest. But visibly, it's apparent when a rope is "dirty."
 
TreeRecon said:
If you followed your rope manufacture's suggestions, should be fine. A visual check will usually be enough to let you know.

For 2 seasons: You would have to be pretty negligent to get an amount of dirt in your rope that would get into the core and weaken it.

If you're not dropping it in mud filled puddles and always doing proper rope management, you should be ok.

When Teufelberger did these tests, they submerged the rope in the dirt mixture. I was surprised at the MBS loss to be honest. But visibly, it's apparent when a rope is "dirty."
Click to expand...
Mammut recommendation for dry treated ropes makes sense in that light. Two ropes I use have the dry cover or "duratec dry" treatment where they just soak the rope after braiding and it mainly affects the mantel. But also the treatment wears off in time.

What surprized me about Teufelberg test is just adding the dirt was enough and apparently there were no additional manipulation of the sample simulating actually using the rope before the break test. Intuitively I'd guess if the rope is soiled, then used for rope climbing and rappeling for few cycles, the MBS would drop even more.
 
TreeRecon said:
If you followed your rope manufacture's suggestions, should be fine. A visual check will usually be enough to let you know.

For 2 seasons: You would have to be pretty negligent to get an amount of dirt in your rope that would get into the core and weaken it.

If you're not dropping it in mud filled puddles and always doing proper rope management, you should be ok.

When Teufelberger did these tests, they submerged the rope in the dirt mixture. I was surprised at the MBS loss to be honest. But visibly, it's apparent when a rope is "dirty."
Click to expand...
I just figure rope is cheap relative to other gear as well as medical bills.
 
Looking on Sterling's website, they don't say not to wash your rope. They sell a rope wash and give instructions on how to do it.

When I got pig blood all over one rope last year, Sterling Canyon Tech, I washed it all wrong. It was stinking badly, so I was desperate. I tried an ozone machine, and that didn't work. Then I washed it in dawn, then in the washing machine with hunting clothes detergent, before finally throwing it in the dryer. It still had a smell. Lesson learned.

Thanks for all the info Tree. I will read into it.
 
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Let me know if I am understanding this correctly. In short, we need to prevent dirt getting into our ropes in the first place. If your rope does get dirty, clean it as soon as possible using the proper method. Cleaning will help the sheath's life as seen in Mammut's testing. However, if dirt gets into the core, which is the main area of strength, MBS will still be significantly affected as shown in testing from Teufelberger . Here are the conclusions from Teufelberger:
PMz5Xtt.jpg
 
cjr4497 said:
Let me know if I am understanding this correctly. In short, we need to prevent dirt getting into our ropes in the first place. If your rope does get dirty, clean it as soon as possible using the proper method. Cleaning will help the sheath's life as seen in Mammut's testing. However, if dirt gets into the core, which is the main area of strength, MBS will still be significantly affected as shown in testing from Teufelberger . Here are the conclusions from Teufelberger:
PMz5Xtt.jpg
Click to expand...
Do note the quality of the dirt. If it's mainly organic matter I doubt the effect is as severe. Avoid sand and fine dust and use dry treated rope if those can't be avoided.

Most importantly avoid creating a situation that subjects the rope to anywhere near 60% of the mbs..
 
cjr4497 said:
Let me know if I am understanding this correctly. In short, we need to prevent dirt getting into our ropes in the first place. If your rope does get dirty, clean it as soon as possible using the proper method. Cleaning will help the sheath's life as seen in Mammut's testing. However, if dirt gets into the core, which is the main area of strength, MBS will still be significantly affected as shown in testing from Teufelberger . Here are the conclusions from Teufelberger:
PMz5Xtt.jpg
Click to expand...
I heard a podcast where they had the Teufelberger techs who run the Brainbox on. (The guys who wrote the article I linked).

The message was: Don't wash your rope unless you absolutely must. And if you do wash it, use rope specific soap.

Strangely, sap has little to no effect on tensile strength. But can jam up your descender.

That being said: If you're a worry wart, Teufelberger makes industrial 11mm ropes that are chemical resistant and designed for "dirty" environments.
 
Here is Samson the world’s premier rope manufacturer suggested cleaning:
www.samsonrope.com

Rope Cleaning - Samson Rope

Samson ropes can be cleaned, but some guidelines should be followed to ensure the rope continues performing at its full potential.
www.samsonrope.com www.samsonrope.com
Bluewater ropes also recommends washing your ropes:
www.bluewaterropes.com

FAQ's - BlueWater Ropes

SHARE Have a question that you don’t see on our list? Feel free to contact us, and we’ll do our best to get you all the beta you’ve […]
www.bluewaterropes.com www.bluewaterropes.com

I personally am not a fan of Teufelberger and know nothing about their “techs” but they sell a rope wash as well as have recommendations for washing
www.teufelberger.com

SCRUBBA by Teufelberger

SCRUBBA is a rope detergent specifically adapted to the requirements of fiber ropes. It helps you wash your ropes gently and easily. Available for the following countries: Austria, Germany, UK, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, USA.
www.teufelberger.com www.teufelberger.com
 
Basically as long as you wash the rope with a safe mild or formulated detergent, and rinse it thoroughly to remove all soap residue, and then allow it to properly hang and air dry completely, away from heat and sunlight before storing it. You will not effect your ropes performance or reduce its strength to any significant amount. However allowing a rope to stay filthy and sand/dirt to get into the core, can and will weaken the rope.
 
For you sterling fans here is a link for inspection, retiring, and cleaning… they also make a special formulated rope wash
sterlingrope.com

Four Easy Rope Care Techniques

Here at Sterling, we appreciate the power of gravity and your need to confront it safely. We build our products to stand up to the rigors of climbing and we take that level of trust very seriously. Ropes, however, do not last forever. Climbing and technical rope work exposes ropes to abrasion...
sterlingrope.com sterlingrope.com
 
This is what I've noticed with dirt and friction hitches.... As it gets dirty u increase friction and ur hitch grab easier and more difficult to break.... Ignore the dirt/extra friction and it gets to a point after a while the rope starts to gall and then the friction hitches slowly start to grab less and less. If u flip ur ropes every season u gonna get more life outta the ropes.
 
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