Damp rope still good

I washed off my climbing rope in a river. The darn thing took forever (serveral weeks) to completely dry, even laid out with fans on it/on the deck in the shade.

I am guessing it was not a dry treated rope and a larger diameter. Should be fine once it is fully dry. If wet ropes were done for, there would be a lot of dead ice climbers everytime we climb ice in the sun.

But ice climbers don’t fall :).

In all seriousness that is a long time that it was wet but I wouldn’t worry unless the rope smelled really moldy or something then I may look into it farther.

If it’s really humid where u are maybe inside by the air conditioner vent  would work better to dry it.

Just noticed you are in Boise which I’m guessing isn’t that humid so maybe it took so long to dry because it was still coiled or flaked in a pile instead of spread out?

Thanks guys yeah it was flaked out fairly well. So I don’t know what the deal was. My main concern is now that it is dry that is still ok to use. Thanks!

That long is really strange. It was "on the deck", so maybe there was a bit of rain you didn't notice.

I know "they" say not to dry a rope in the sun, but does anybody know WHY?  I'm a chemist by training and really can't see any difference between climbing with a dry rope in the sun and drying that same rope in the sun when its wet.  Yes, UV radiation isn't all that good for nylon, but the same amount of UV radiation hits the rope in 2-3 days of sunny climbing as 2-3 days in a sunny place drying.

The UIAA rope testing done in the mid-1970's showed no correlation of time-in-the-sun-during climbing with loss-in-number-of-UIAA-test-falls held  .  

It's fine, but next time maybe keep it inside your house while trying to dry it. I like to re-flake each day so that all sections get their fair share of exposure to dry air.

Robert Hall wrote: That long is really strange. It was "on the deck", so maybe there was a bit of rain you didn't notice.

I know "they" say not to dry a rope in the sun, but does anybody know WHY?  I'm a chemist by training and really can't see any difference between climbing with a dry rope in the sun and drying that same rope in the sun when its wet.  Yes, UV radiation isn't all that good for nylon, but the same amount of UV radiation hits the rope in 2-3 days of sunny climbing as 2-3 days in a sunny place drying.

The UIAA rope testing done in the mid-1970's showed no correlation of time-in-the-sun-during climbing with loss-in-number-of-UIAA-test-falls held  .  

Its just a good general practice for storing your rope any time you aren't climbing it (which includes drying it out). Yes the amount of damage is the same as when you climb on it in the sun but if you do both then you end up with more damage than if you climbed in the sun and always stored your rope in the shade. In theory, it ought to increase the rope's lifespan, if even only by a few days or weeks. 

You'd be amazed what these ropes can handle 

Yes, that's the "argument" that's given. Two "issues": 1) A rope is washed, what...maybe twice or 3 times during it's life, and you climb in the sun maybe 100-150+ days during a rope's life, so what's a day or two drying in the sun?, and 2) The facts are that ropes* that were used for 2 to 2 1/2 years in sun, rain and wind still held the same number of UIAA falls as the "control" rope that was left in the bag in a cool, dry, dark place.   Kinda makes sense when you consider almost all of the holding power of a kernmantel rope is in the inner core, which is never exposed to the sun, since the sheath "potects" it.

"Good practice" is almost always good practice, but here's a case where following it (i.e. not drying a rope in the sun) might have caused more damage.  I know that IF the rope had smelled of mold because it took so long to dry, I (for one) would not have used it for lead climbing again, and probably retired it to tree-cutting-and-towing uses. As far as I know there's no data on the effect of mold on rope, but it can't be good.  

* This was a 50-rope, controlled experiment conducted for 2 to 2 1/2 years where the rope-users kept a  record of the conditions encountered while climbing, including: sun, clouds, rain, friction, length of the climb(s) and time.

Robert Hall wrote: Yes, that's the "argument" that's given. Two "issues": 1) A rope is washed, what...maybe twice or 3 times during it's life, and you climb in the sun maybe 100-150+ days during a rope's life, so what's a day or two drying in the sun?, and 2) The facts are that ropes* that were used for 2 to 2 1/2 years in sun, rain and wind still held the same number of UIAA falls as the "control" rope that was left in the bag in a cool, dry, dark place.   Kinda makes sense when you consider almost all of the holding power of a kernmantel rope is in the inner core, which is never exposed to the sun, since the sheath "potects" it.

"Good practice" is almost always good practice, but here's a case where following it (i.e. not drying a rope in the sun) might have caused more damage.  I know that IF the rope had smelled of mold because it took so long to dry, I (for one) would not have used it for lead climbing again, and probably retired it to tree-cutting-and-towing uses. As far as I know there's no data on the effect of mold on rope, but it can't be good.  

* This was a 50-rope, controlled experiment conducted for 2 to 2 1/2 years where the rope-users kept a  record of the conditions encountered while climbing, including: sun, clouds, rain, friction, length of the climb(s) and time.

I tend to climb in very sandy/dirty areas so I wash my ropes a lot more than 3 times during its life. One of my ropes is 5 years old and still going strong and I think I've washed it like 5 or 6 times now. 

Probably still a drop in a bucket, but imagine one of those people that goes TRing a couple times a year. If they stored their rope in the sun, and replaced their ropes every 10 years because they barely use them at all, would that be enough exposure to significantly weaken the ropes?

Plus, beyond just the strength of the rope, lots of UV exposure makes ropes stiff and crusty. Even if it's still strong enough, its handling would go to shit. And it may potentially affect the elasticity of the rope.

Michael Tilden wrote: My main concern is now that it is dry that is still ok to use. Thanks!

Robert Hall wrote:"Good practice" is almost always good practice, but here's a case where following it (i.e. not drying a rope in the sun) might have caused more damage.  I know that IF the rope had smelled of mold because it took so long to dry, I (for one) would not have used it for lead climbing again, and probably retired it to tree-cutting-and-towing uses. As far as I know there's no data on the effect of mold on rope, but it can't be good.  

Just when it seemed gear paranoia couldn't get any higher on MP we get these gems!

Water doesn't affect nylon. Yes, a wet rope is about 20% "weaker" than when it's dry, but that's it.
Mold and mildew do not affect nylon.