Windshield wiper fluid spilled on rope
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I overheard some folks at the crag talking about accidentally spilling a lot of windshield wiper fluid on their climbing rope. That got me thinking about what I would do if the same thing happened to me. What would y'all do? Retire the rope, retire it sooner than normal, or proceed as usual? |
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What kind? What chemical formula? Was it the good winter stuff full of methanol? |
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For 100 odd bucks I'd cover my own ass and buy a new one. |
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Retire it. It's not worth the risk. |
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Windshield wiper fluid is, mostly, methanol. Different formulations will have different concentrations - take a look at MSDS |
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Doesn't windshield washer fluid come in plastic jugs? |
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rocknice2 wrote:Doesn't windshield washer fluid come in plastic jugs?Yup. Just like bleach, draino, and gasoline. |
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Thanks for the answers y'all. I feel like I would retire the rope earlier than usual as it seems that the common components of windshield wiper fluid wouldn't do any damage but it is good to be better safe than sorry. |
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Water and milk also come in plastic jugs |
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mmmmm plastic jugs |
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amarius wrote:Windshield wiper fluid is, mostly, methanol...Methanol will have no effect on either nylon or polyester, otherwise folks spilling those dry vodka martinis on their mid 70s polyester leisure suits would've been naked.Not many of those folks were taking factor-2 falls onto their leisure suit pant legs though. If it was my rope I'd retire it. |
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Without testing, it's impossible for anyone to give you a confident answer. Buy two sewn nylon slings, dunk one in the windshield washer fluid, then send both off to the manufacturer and ask them to pull test the slings and compare the results. |
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Just wash the rope in some detergent and it should be fine. If you are still concerned, wash it and make a rope rug out of it. |
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Nickc Diaz wrote:I overheard some folks at the crag talking about accidentally spilling a lot of windshield wiper fluid on their climbing rope. That got me thinking about what I would do if the same thing happened to me. What would y'all do? Retire the rope, retire it sooner than normal, or proceed as usual?Well it's a moot point since it wasn't your rope. But the main takeaway is that some people need to be A LOT more careful with their ropes. "I think I'll just lay my rope across the intake manifold while I check the fluids. Oh look, I need washer fluid." |
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Call (contact) the company who made the rope and ask them. |
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Chris Rice wrote:Call (contact) the company who made the rope and ask them.With near certainty they are going to tell you to trash it. Aside from spilling water on your rope, manufacturers will tell you to retire your gear when it comes into contact with any chemical. It is very likely the manufacturer has no testing data on windshield wiper fluid and dynamic climbing ropes, so they would be taking a big risk advising anything other than retirement. |
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Wash your rope with some "Fuck it all", then go climbing. |