Cleaning Dock Lines

[SweetSurrender]

Hello fellow boaters -

My dock lines were placed in my stern locker while still damp. With the heat waves we have had; they developed a mildew smell.

What solution is best for me to soak these lines in to remove the smell?

Thanks!
-Ryan

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

Wash in boat soap and a dash of clorox bleach then hang out to dry. A splash of Fabrize would not hurt anything.

 

[c27win]

Boat soap and a dash of Clorox, which STIHLBOLTS said will work. Only suggestion different is to use chlorine instead of Clorox. No soap, use no more than 40/60 chlorine to water mixture. Spray on, let soak for about 5-10 minutes, rinse really good. Also chlorine smells better. Hope this also helps.
Frank

 

[aquadancer]

I am not a big fan of bleach on dock lines. I take my lines home at the end of season, wash them in a big bucket with Woolite and soak them in fabric softner. Rinse and hang to dry.

 

[ken]

I second Aquadancer, the fabric softner will keep the lines nice & pliable.

 

[STIHLBOLTS]

I have white lines so that is the reasoning behind the clorox bleach. Takes the slime out pretty good that way.

Woolite is a good alternate.

You could also put them in one of those mesh bags and throw the lines in the washing machine too. I don't know that I would chance it on the Admirals machine's but might take them to a laundry mat and give it a shot.

 

[wkearney99]

I picked up a couple of the larger size mesh bags from a local REI store. Not the huge ones, the medium sized ones; around 2' long. I put only two lines in each bag. I ran them through the delicate cycle of the washer using just regular detergent. I manually re-ran the spin cycle on them twice more to fling out extra water. Even in the bag, and with one having just a single line, they still get a bit tangled. But they don't get twisted up tight. Just a loose mess. I untangled them and left them to air dry outside. There were both blue double-braided and a couple of white nylon lines.

 

[Asureyez]

Washing nylon lines

Nylon will get stiff and unfriendly over time as it becomes compacted with dirt and salt.

I soak mine in now get this one ... a five gal pail made up of hot water and that late night champion of the cleaning world .... Oxyclean!

This stuff works great on bringing back color and dissolving dirt and grime. The lines are then rinsed several times to remove all cleaner and then soaked for a few minute sin a solution of water and Downy Fabric Softener. then let them dry hanging in the sun.

No smells, clean and no longer stiff and hard to manage.

Try it ...

 

[SweetSurrender]

Thanks a million for all the great information. The admirmal and I are heading to the boat this afternoon - I'm going to give these suggestions a try.

Thanks again!!
-Ryan