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Rope cleaning


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Not sure if this has been discussed before, but I was wondering what (if anything) people did to clean their mooring ropes?

I basically have 2 sets - the ones for when we are out and about (the really good ones) which because they are not out in the elements 24x7 tend to stay clean. The ones I use on the home mooring tend to go green, especially over the winter. Even worse as they are white!!

Last time I cleaned them using a very dilute solution of bleach and leaving them to soak for at least 24hrs before washing off and it worked really well and they stayed supple - obviously there could be a slight degradation in the strength of the rope after this, but they seem fine so far.

This year I tried a strong solution of biological washing liquid - the cheapest we could buy. I have heard this is good for cleaning ovens so thought it would make light work of a bit of algae. Soaked the ropes for a week in it and although the water looked horrible, the ropes haven't cleaned up as well as I would have liked. At least not as well as with the bleach. Should I have run it through the washing machine to agitate it more (not sure I can get away with this though).

They have now been rinsed and are soaking in a strong solution of fabric conditioner - have been told this will help keep them nice and supple. Will be leaving them in this for another week before the final rinse and hanging to dry.

Just wondered if anyone else had any tips on rope cleaning or what has worked well for them in the past?

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Washing machine every time, I use a couple of large cable ties to keep the hanks together and remove anything metal, like rhond anchors or mud weights or shackles etc... 

Plays havoc with the balance of the machine lol...

It's probably the only time I personally use the machine, but only after setting up by the wife lol. Minimum spin, no drying, open up to dry in open air.

 

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I do the same - washing machine at 40, fabric conditioner and individual coils with lots of cable ties. Our mudweight shackle is spliced in so its stuffed into a number of thick socks to muffle the clatter. For the white home-mooring lines we found a soaking in 50\50 Patio Magic and leaving to air-,dry killed the green and kept them clean(ish) most of this season. In a garden sprayer its pretty good on the canopy too.

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16 hours ago, Viking23 said:

Washing machine every time, I use a couple of large cable ties to keep the hanks together and remove anything metal, like rhond anchors or mud weights or shackles etc... 

Plays havoc with the balance of the machine lol...

It's probably the only time I personally use the machine, but only after setting up by the wife lol. Minimum spin, no drying, open up to dry in open air.

 

Love to see a washing machine spin dry a mudweight (clearly not my washing machine!)

 

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What is happening to all of us Men, are we finding our inner feminine side?

Sorry Gracie... I actually do help with the house cleaning lol. 

We been using vacumm cleaners for years on the boat, but we tend to forget how to use them at home, but we are now using Washing Machines, Dishwashers, sailies will be ironing their sails next lol...

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Viking23 said:

What is happening to all of us Men, are we finding our inner feminine side?

Sorry Gracie... I actually do help with the house cleaning lol. 

We been using vacumm cleaners for years on the boat, but we tend to forget how to use them at home, but we are now using Washing Machines, Dishwashers, sailies will be ironing their sails next lol...

 

 

No its a case of survival, if I am hungry and want food I cook. Tan looks after washing, ironing, maybe a bit of cleaning, all I have to do is keep everything working.

Tan with a broken washing machine or last week when I had to wait a week for a new drive belt for the tumble dryer is not to be reckoned with.

As for sailies there is not much difference between sails and sheets:naughty:

Regards

Alan 

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I am banned from the washing machine and tumble dryer unless it is to repair them, I got them mixed up and turned the washer on instead of the dryer, strange as I had fitted them into our new kitchen. As for the iron I'm not allowed near it after being caught using it as a replacement laminator ( cost me a new iron that ).

paul

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Just now, ZimbiIV said:

I am banned from the washing machine and tumble dryer unless it is to repair them, I got them mixed up and turned the washer on instead of the dryer, strange as I had fitted them into our new kitchen. As for the iron I'm not allowed near it after being caught using it as a replacement laminator ( cost me a new iron that ).

paul

Hi Paul,

Women do not understand that when a job needs doing in some cases you need to to use an iron or modify the odd item to get the job done. 

After using the iron once a leaving a slight mark on the sole plate, I had to get a new one for laminating edging strips, I let Tan have the new iron, which was good of me.

Regards

Alan

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I have my own laminating iron, the steam part packed up, so rather than chuck it, I did surgery on the iron and removed the water tank, I also plastic padded the fill hole, in case someone else found it and tried to fill it with water. Still works 25 years on lol....

In the good old days you could replace the element in an iron, also a kettle, basically they were all the same across UK made appliances. 

These days, with care, you can still find replacement cooker rings for certain cookers.

Modern irons are built down to a price so when one thing goes everything else follows very soon after, plus very difficult to strip down.

Progress !! 

Most small appliances are made in China, cloned, badged with any manufacturer of your choice.

 Cheap though... 

 

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