Effects of urine on dry rope

Yep, that rope definitely got pulled right into a big ole pool of dehydrated waste bodily fluids. So what now? Burn it? Wear gloves when rope handling? Should this be treated as getting battery acid on your rope? I know certain things aren't good for ropes thats fo sho. So open up the opinions of the intergoogles

Jeff Luton wrote: Yep, that rope definitely got pulled right into a big ole pool of dehydrated waste bodily fluids. So what now? Burn it? Wear gloves when rope handling? Should this be treated as getting battery acid on your rope? I know certain things aren't good for ropes thats fo sho. So open up the opinions of the intergoogles

Just wash it. Only the most anal retentive paranoid personalities would worry about it.

How is it a "pool" if it's "dehydrated?"

The German Alpine Club did the tests back in the day. Soaking your rope in urine for a day or two has no effect on the rope performance--only on your interest in using the rope. Hint: don't bring this rope on your next climbing date... [reference: one of the Pit Shubert "Risiko in Fels und Eis" books]

My chemistry is a little shaky, but I think the pKa of uric acid is high (5.8), the acid is weak, and not enough of it dissociates to attack the nylon. 

Keep that rope away from yee olde sulphuric acid (pKa 1.9). And the ant acid, formic acid (pKa 3.75)...

Applying urine to a brand new dry rope could be bad for your teeth and bones health.

Marsella wrote:

I urinate on my partners rope pretty much every time we climb -- no one has died yet.

wat

AndrewArroz wrote:

How is it a "pool" if it's "dehydrated?"

dave custer wrote:

The German Alpine Club did the tests back in the day. Soaking your rope in urine for a day or two has no effect on the rope performance--only on your interest in using the rope. Hint: don't bring this rope on your next climbing date... [reference: one of the Pit Shubert "Risiko in Fels und Eis" books]

My chemistry is a little shaky, but I think the pKa of uric acid is high (5.8), the acid is weak, and not enough of it dissociates to attack the nylon. 

Keep that rope away from yee olde sulphuric acid (pKa 1.9). And the ant acid, formic acid (pKa 3.75)...

Hmmmm... reminds of the guy who asked: "Is it bad that a cat peed on my rope?"

And I replied: "It is for the cat..."

This still qualifies as almost new in buy/sell/trade. 

Uric acid can definitely degrade nylon. However, its questionable if human urine has high enough concentration of uric acid to really do anything. Given that your rope is dry treated, I'd say that it probably didn't get enough to really fuck up your rope. I would just wash it really well, or maybe even wash it a couple of times, and call it good. Also don't disclose that to your climbing partners

climbing friend,

you are going to be doing thedying brah

Can't find an original document for this detail:

http://www.rockandice.com/gear-guide-tips/will-urine-harm-a-climbing-rope

Powick does cite additional testing by Pit Schubert and the University of Stuttgart on ropes contaminated with human urine. A rope soaked overnight in urine saw a 30-percent reduction in the number of falls held, while a rope on which urine drops had been dribbled held 13 percent fewer falls. 

Yellow piss in sandstone would be much worse than clear piss on granite I would assume. 

Human urine is not pure uric acid.  It's diluted by excess water in the body.  This gives it a ph of around 6.5-8.  Very neutral. So it will have no effect on nylon.  Plus iif it was really a pool, it probably means there was rain water added, and as long as your not near major industrial cities with extremely high levels of acid rain, it is going to be even further diluted.  

Joe Garibay wrote:

Yellow piss in sandstone would be much worse than clear piss on granite I would assume. 

Jeff Luton wrote:How many days would you wait to climb on that?

Touch it to your lips. If it's cool to the touch you need to wait another day. 

climbing friend,

do not piss of your rope