UKC

Hi guys! 
 

annoyingly when my climbing rope was in my boot some screen wash leaked from a bottle and got on the rope… roughly 100ml!

it was only exposed for a maximum of 3 hours before I rinsed it off.

I have washed the rope and it’s now air drying but wondered if people think it’s safe to continue to use or retire? 

cheers! 

Screen wash usually contains isopropanol or a similar alcohol. Contact the rope manufacturer. Get their advice. 

I suspect you are unlikely to get the response you require after telling a manufacturer you've spilt chemicals on one of their ropes!

I wouldn't knowingly tie into a rope that had been exposed to chemicals, wouldn't expect partner to do this

https://www.tyrepros.co.uk/blog/what-is-screenwash-made-from

"alcohols ...usually isopropyl..."

https://www.calpaclab.com/nylon-chemical-compatibility-chart/

"Alcohols: Isopropy lD-Severe Effect"

Possibly not good I'm afraid...

Take some strands of rope core and put it in screen wash for a week - observe. Take 5m of it, soak it, wait, strength test it... experiment! Then climb with it once fully satisfied. If not scrap it. 

You expose a rope to 'chemicals' every time you handle it. Every time you wash it.

It's just the nature of the 'chemicals' you need to understand, and their effect on the rope.

https://www.maximropes.com/home/tech_info/covid_19_rope_disinfection/
 

study done on the effect of isopropyl alcohol when used as disinfectant on ropes. Mind you, they’re only spraying it on them wiping it off, so much smaller amounts than what you describe.

its good and satisfactory on other sites though.

https://www.entecpolymers.com/resources/product-guides/nylon-chemical-resis...

That said, that wouldn't be good enough for me.

There are probably some other questionable ingredients to the screen wash too. Bin the rope and get a new one is probably what I'd do. 

Interestingly DMM liquid chalk has a high percentage of isopopyl alcohol. You could ask them about it but I can't imagine they'd sell that if it was bad around climbing gear

https://dmmwales.com/products/liquid-chalk

I thought this was going to be about the most pointless novelty gift idea ever.

Screen wash contains water, soap and a little alcohol to depress the freezing point. Somewhere between red wine and vodka on the alcohol content. Nothing to worry about.

It will have a comparable effect on the rope to any of the usual rucksack explosions, liquid chalk, hand sanitiser, suncream, cheese and pickle sandwich.

looking into this more, I suspect:

The nylon absorbs the IPA, softening and swelling but not changing chemically.  While it is in the rope it is likely to adversely affect the performance.  However, once it is dried the fibres will return to something like their original volume and structural properties.

Perhaps short exposure with proper drying (ie a decent length of time, not hot) it will be ok.

In this test:

https://www.maximropes.com/home/tech_info/covid_19_rope_disinfection/ they soaked for 3 minutes and dried for 48 hours and saw a 3-4% change in properties. I suspect you get a 3-4% change in properties in the first big fall...

The difference between "during exposure" and "after exposure" probably accounts for the different conclusions in the various sources.

I'm not sure if you'd be so happy if the rope spent a year in IPA but perhaps a short period equivalent to the hand sanitizer test you might be happy.

It's just information rather than advice. I suspect that if it were me and it was a battered fluffy rope I might chop off the wet, fluffy ends and use it at the wall or for abseiling if it was still of a reasonable length.  If it was a new / good rope I'd be looking for more data... but wouldn't use while damp from the stuff.

Google the screenwash brand, followed by 'msds'. That will bring up a sheet with the active ingredients on it, which is the information you (or the manufaturer) needs to make a call.

Don't assume different screenwashes will be made with the same ingredients.

For example, Prestone has: ( https://cdn.aws.toolstation.com/items/coshh/99628.pdf )

5-10% Methanol (Methyl alcohol)

1-5% Ethanediol (Ethylene glycol)

<1% Ammonia

Running those through chemical compatibilty charts it comes up as nylon being kosher. With Prestone and Prestone only i got to emphasise

For peace of mind just email the datasheet to the rope manufacturer and see what they say, otherwise it may always be in the back of your mind

Considering all liquid chalk products come with the clausal that After you have it on yer hands, you should not touch anything until the hands are dry (so IPA and all other volatile components have vaporated)… I’m not tol worries about it. But If you were to immerse your rope in said liquid chalk… well I’d assume the rope not being ok to use (at least without extensive washing).

Look on the bright side, at least your rope is less likely to freeze up.

I think if you ask the rope manufacturer, they will say 'bin it', because that excludes them from liability.

Can you suggest anything that a rope might be exposed to that isn't a chemical, apart from harsh words and ridicule?

To be clear I'm not advocating its safe for the op to use the rope, but DMM must be well aware that many people keep the liquid chalk in their rope bag and that some cross contamination is likely in normal use in any case. I'm not sure if DMMs one has a warning or not. Beal PureGrip contains isopropyl alcohol and does not have a warning on the bottle.

Concentration has a big impact on what reactions can take place. 100% isopropyl alcohol will react with things that 70% will not. Anecdotal example, I've used 70% isopropyl to clean oil and grime off of the frame of a bike. 100% isopropyl has taken the paint off.

I marked the centre of several ropes (taken off spool) using Sharpie 30003 marker over the years. Not saying anyone else should do this, but I'm still alive... so far...

I regularly expose myself to my rope, it doesn't seem to care!

What knot do you use to tie in?