Cleaning synthetic winch rope

Cleaning synthetic winch rope

Abrasion is the big enemy of synthetic rope, which is an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) It’s a very special plastic in other words, engineered to have immensely high tensile strength when pulled in a straight line.

 

As strong as it is, individual fibres can get damaged from being run over rocks and rough ground under tension, or just getting dirty and grubby from general existence. What you’re trying to do is wash any dirt or other potentially abrasive particles out of the rope to reduce long-term damage.

 

With some warm and mild soapy water, give your synthetic rope a bath. Push the rope together to open up the strands, and try to rinse any gunk out of the rope’s core. Don’t use a brush or anything, just your hands and agitate the rope in water.

 

When you are done, hang out the rope to get rinsed off with fresh water, and then let it dry completely before thinking about rolling it back on.