6 Step Process on Cleaning your Climbing Rope

It being the weekend and the weather is crappy in Ohio, well not good enough to go climbing, I've decided
to sit on my porch with some beers and clean my gear.

I'll just focus on cleaning rope here.  Tomorrow I'll post about cleaning your quickdraws, 'biners, and harness.  (You can look at my earlier posts of how to clean your shoes.)

Step 1. Uncoil your rope and put it in a bucket filled with cold water.  Mix the water with either a rope cleaner or a mild chemical-free soap.

Step 2. Swish around the rope in the bucket until the water turns a brownish-grayish color.

Step 3.  Take rope out and put it on a clean tarp, refill the bucket, and repeat steps 1 and 2 until the water stays relatively clear while cleaning.

Step 4. Allow the rope to sit in a bucket of clean cool water for 30 minutes

Step 5. Ring out the rope with a towel, running the rope through your towel covered hand, squeezing the rope to get the water out.

Step 6. Hang rope in a butterfly coil, keeping it away from the sun.  Allow to have a dim dry.  After drying put back in a rope bag for safe storage.
*Note - though easier to do, do not use a washer or dryer for any of this process because it will weaken the rope.

And that's about it.  It takes longer than you would think.  I always give myself at least an hour to do all of it. Hope it helps!