Yes, You Can Machine Wash a Climbing Rope. Here's How.

Mammut put up a wee reel this week of a climber washing his rope in a washing machine. Daisy chained, gentle cycle, dried on a tarp in the shade. Proper job.

And the comments were exactly what I expected. Half the folk saying you can never put a rope in a machine. The other half admitting they have been doing it for years and their rope is fine.

So here is the honest answer from somebody who washes more retired climbing rope than anyone I know. Yes, you can wash a climbing rope. Yes, you can use a machine. And yes, there are about five ways to wreck it while you do.

Why you should wash it at all

A dirty rope is not just ugly. Grit works through the sheath and sits in the core. Every time the rope bends over a carabiner, that grit saws away at the fibres from the inside. I wrote a whole post on this, the seven things that actually kill a rope, and grit is number one every time.

Washing gets the grit out. It also gets the chalk, the sea salt and the aluminium dust from your belay device out, which is what turns your hands black. A clean rope runs smoother, lasts longer and is nicer to hold. That is the whole argument.

How to wash a climbing rope without wrecking it

1. Daisy chain it first. Loosely chain the whole rope so it cannot tangle. A 60 metre rope loose in a drum comes out as one giant knot. Ask me how I know.

2. Clean the machine. Run an empty hot cycle first. Detergent residue and bleach from the last load are the real danger, not the machine itself. Nylon hates bleach.

3. Cool water only. 30 degrees max. Warm water is fine, hot is not. Nylon does not want heat, ever.

4. Rope wash or nothing. A proper rope cleaner, or a tiny bit of mild soap. No normal detergent, no fabric softener, no bleach. If you are not sure, plain water on its own does most of the work.

5. Gentle cycle, no spin. Delicates setting, lowest spin or none. A front loader is best. Top loaders with a central agitator can chew a rope up.

6. Dry it slowly, in the shade. Flake it out loose on a tarp or over a rack. Somewhere with air moving, out of the sun, away from any radiator. Never a tumble dryer. It takes two or three days and that is fine.

No machine? A bath of cool water and your hands works just as well. Slower, but you get to feel every metre of the rope as you go, which is a free inspection.

The bit nobody says out loud

Washing a rope does not make it safe again. It makes a good rope last longer. If your rope has flat spots, mushy bits or you can see core through the sheath, no amount of washing fixes that. Wash it, check it, and if it fails the check, it is time for the retirement conversation.

And here is my angle, because there is always one. Every rope that lands on my bench in Aberdeen gets washed before it becomes anything. Years of climbing wall grit, chalk and sweat, all out. Cool water, rope wash, dried slow. Exactly the routine above, just on a bigger pile.

So a recycled climbing rope belt has already had the cleanest day of its life before it goes round your waist. Same for the bracelets and the coasters. And when your belt gets grubby, the rules are the same as the rope it came from. Cool water, mild soap, dry in the shade. There is a short care guide here.

Wash your rope. Bag your rope. Keep it off the ground. Cheapest rope insurance there is.

Stay classy and remember,
Make Waste Useful.

George