[Will Hunt]

My apologies if this is a punter question. When I started climbing I was always told that you should wash your gear and ropes after climbing on a sea cliff. As in, fill the bath with clean water, give it all a good swish round and a soak, then dry it out. I don't climb by the sea all that regularly so its not been too much of a faff to follow this received doctrine.

I can see why you might clean metalwork if its actually been dunked in the sea or fallen in a rock pool or similar, but what exactly is it about saltwater that will harm ropes? And if stuff hasn't actually gone in the sea, is it likely to be suffering from ill effects just from rubbing on briny rock?

It all seems like overkill and a bit of a faff, and difficult to achieve if your gear is in regular use, especially if you're climbing on sea cliffs with any sort of regularity. Do I need to bother?

[SA Chris]

I pretty much only climb on seacliffs. If I washed my ropes after every session they would never be dry. TBH I would only wash ropes if they've had a right soaking, once seawater dries out it can leave salt in the fibre of the rope, which is apparently bad.

I only wash my kit once or twice a year, but give gear a squirt of WD40 if anything feels a bit stiff or sticky (oo er!)

[SamT]

I've noticed that stuff gets a bit 'salty' even if its not been dunked directly.  Then, if left at all damp again, the salt will re-dissolve and can seriously start to corrode stuff.

I rarely get to climb by the sea these days so not so much of an issue.

I occasionally wash my ropes in the washing machine on a gentle cool rinse.  give the machine a couple of empty runs to wash out any detergents first.  They come out lovely.

[Duncan campbell]

I wouldn't personally worry so much about washing your ropes Will, unless as you say they've been in the sea... in fact even then I'd weigh up the pros and cons between having salty ropes and having wet ropes.

If you are gonna do it, get it done early on in the week and pray for sunshine!

Also something to note; DMM Phantoms can be very prone to corrosion or at least were a few years ago. A few of my friends and I returned a fair number to DMM as they were really corroding (as in flaking off bits of metal) though I think they switched alloys not long after. So worth knowing that if you have any - look after them!

This reminds me it wouldn't hurt to wash mine this week.

[ashtond6]

Cheque ruining plenty of gear in 2016 

[danm]

Salt crystals and sand particles will be left when the water dries off after your ropes have got a bit of a splashing or dunking. Use your common sense on when to give your ropes a clean, do it if they look dirty and once or twice a season in any case.

The alloys used for climbing hardware are very susceptible to some forms of corrosion. You don't need to get your kit wet - just slightly damp from wind blown spray and moisture can be enough. At the very least run your rack under the tap when you get home. The real killer is leaving kit in a bag for months afterwards.

The flaking off thing Duncan mentions is a form of intergranular corrosion called exfoliation corrosion. Instead of the familiar pitting or rusting on a surface, this corrosion attacks the boundaries between the crystals. It isn't something limited to a particular brand or model - some alloys which include copper are more susceptible but it's a general issue for extruded or heavily worked aluminium alloys, so most carabiners, cams and wires are at risk. More for the geeks here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergranular_corrosion

[Will Hunt]

Thanks for the knowledge.

From what you say, Dan, the effect of salt crystals in the rope will be much the same as if you stack your ropes on dusty ground at (for instance) Stanage except that its much easier for the salt held in solution to penetrate the sheath. Sounds like a good reason to give them a wash. And the metal corrosion sounds like it could happen quite easily and sounds nasty.

What about this for a rule of thumb:
Wash soft kit (ropes and harnesses) as soon as possible after climbing if it has become wet or been dunked or splashed in saltwater. Wash hardware as soon as possible after climbing if it has been dunked or splashed or if there's spray or even if the crag is a bit "salty" and grimy from recent spray. Regardless of conditions, consider washing all kit every month or two if it is in use on sea cliffs.

[danm]

I'll be honest, I'm not sure how abrasive salt crystals are but I imagine they are fairly hard and brittle. Personally I don't wash my rope off every time it gets a bit wet at the sea but I guess if you climb a lot on sea cliffs, doing so might extend the lifespan of your rope a little.

For hardware, regular washing is a must.

I'm going to Pembroke in a week or so, so I might do a little experiment with some old biners to see how long it takes for the corrosion to kick in after a bit of exposure to salt.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

I used to work in a shop where they had an alloy krab found on a sea cliff ledge on display. Not sure how long it had been exposed (based on its type probably a few years but not decades) and it was in three pieces. Not snapped just corroded. Clean salt off your kit.