I have never washed my lines, more than simply rinsing them off with the hose
but it occurs to me that if you tied them up loosely with tywraps before you
tossed them in the washer they wouldn't tangle up.

Braiding the lines before washing eliminates the tangle and only takes
a minute to do and undo. Whip the ends first!

Doug
s/v Callista

"Don Dando" wrote in message
. com...
Many folks say not to put lines in the washing machine but I find that
they
get clean and stay supple and comfortable to handle after being run
through
the machine. Any frayed ends will worsen, so if possible fix that before
washing the lines. (Allocate plenty of time to untie them! They really
get
knotted together)! If you have a mix of colored and white lines, I'd wash
each color separately.

Don Dando


"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news
Hi,

Spring Cleaning time for Far Cove! I usually replace the lines, but
this year money's a bit tight. They're perfectly servicable, just rather
green from the Wet Coast's winter wetness. What's a good/safe way to
clean
them? I heard an oxygen-based bleach like Oxy-Clean was good for sails -
how about dacron lines?

Same question for sail covers.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - shiny engine, not so shiny lines.

I have cleaned pretty grundgy docklines and anchor rodes by laying them out
on my driveway and blasting them with a pressure washer while rolling them
back and forth under foot to get at the "bottom" of the lines. No soap was
needed and the lines looked close to new. My pressure washer is electric.
I imagine that using a higher-powered gas-powered pressure washer might
involve some risk of damage to the line fibers. All the lines I have done
this on have been 3-strand nylon. I have not tried it on braided line.
Your mileage may vary.

If you have a mix of coloured and white lines, I'd wash
each color separately

I don't think you need to worry about the colour bleeding as these lines are
all synthetic material so the colour is right in the plastic.

"Don Dando" wrote in message
. com...
Many folks say not to put lines in the washing machine but I find that
they
get clean and stay supple and comfortable to handle after being run
through
the machine. Any frayed ends will worsen, so if possible fix that before
washing the lines. (Allocate plenty of time to untie them! They really
get
knotted together)! If you have a mix of colored and white lines, I'd wash
each color separately.

Don Dando


"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news
Hi,

Spring Cleaning time for Far Cove! I usually replace the lines, but
this year money's a bit tight. They're perfectly servicable, just rather
green from the Wet Coast's winter wetness. What's a good/safe way to
clean
them? I heard an oxygen-based bleach like Oxy-Clean was good for sails -
how about dacron lines?

Same question for sail covers.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - shiny engine, not so shiny lines.

hi
i put mine in the washing machine, and the ropes :-)



fragged

"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
news
Hi,

Spring Cleaning time for Far Cove! I usually replace the lines, but
this year money's a bit tight. They're perfectly servicable, just rather
green from the Wet Coast's winter wetness. What's a good/safe way to clean
them? I heard an oxygen-based bleach like Oxy-Clean was good for sails -
how about dacron lines?

Same question for sail covers.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - shiny engine, not so shiny lines.

I've used Tide and OxyClean to clean dock lines in a washing machine
before. After the wash cycle, I let them soaf for a couple of hours.
It worked great. As mentioned before, a mesh bag would be a good
precaution against them wrapping around the agitator. Some of the
lines were almost black. After sun drying they look almost new. I was
a little concerned about the Oxy-Clean weakening them but it's now
been a year and I haven't had any problems with them.

"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message .. .
Hi,

Spring Cleaning time for Far Cove! I usually replace the lines, but
this year money's a bit tight. They're perfectly servicable, just rather
green from the Wet Coast's winter wetness. What's a good/safe way to clean
them? I heard an oxygen-based bleach like Oxy-Clean was good for sails -
how about dacron lines?

Same question for sail covers.

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36 - shiny engine, not so shiny lines.