How do I wash my container?

[JohnRich 4]

How do I wash my container?

[JohnnyMarko 1]

Regular cold wash
Tumble dry low
Non-chlorine bleach only

[JohnRich 4]

Excellent! Thank you for that advice.

If I wash my canopy with fabric softener, will it make it open softer?

[JohnnyMarko 1]

Maybe this is less asshole-ish
http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=688233;search_string=washing%20container;#688233

[airtwardo 7]

Quote

Excellent! Thank you for that advice.

If I wash my canopy with fabric softener, will it make it open softer?

It might..but if you use fabric softener on the harness, the legstraps won't chafe if it DOES open hard!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[davelepka 4]

Remove anything that isn't bolted down. Fill a clean bathtub with cold water and cup (ish) of mild soap like Wollite. Insert rig and submerge it and swoosh it around.

Hit any really bad areas with a soft brush. I've had good results (as-in not damaging the rig) with natural fiber brushes like horse-hair, or similar.

Drain the water after an hour, and refill with clean water. Swoosh around and let sit. Drain that water and either refill with water and more soap if needed, or refill with more clean water.

In either case, follow with several more refill/drain cycles with clean water.

To dry, I use a couple of heavy duty plastic hangers over the shower curtain bar. You may have to cinch up the chest strap to keep the shoulders from sliding off the hanger. I drape a big towel over the edge of the tub because half of the water will fall in the tub and half out.

Once hanging, you can squeeze some of the water out of the rig, starting from the top down. It will actaully retain quite a bit of water, so the squeezing really does help to dry it out. If you really want to dry it, follow up the first squeezing with one where you use a towel. It will grab any moisture that won't run off the rig and would try to soak back in after being squeezed.

It should be dry within 36 to 48 hours.

[councilman24 37]

You know, I DID wash a canopy in a washing machine once.

Strato Cloud, off links, lines in fabric bag, front loading no agitator commercial machine.

Worked just great!

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME WITH ANY CANOPY YOU WANT TO JUMP AGAIN!!!!

BTW people refer to woolite, but woolite is NO LONGER what it used to be. Even the delicate version has changed.

Ivory soap (flakes not made since 1993) may be a better choice. But in reality either woolite delicate or ivory soap may be okay.

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

[spootch 0]

Quote

To dry, I use a couple of heavy duty plastic hangers over the shower curtain bar. You may have to cinch up the chest strap to keep the shoulders from sliding off the hanger. I drape a big towel over the edge of the tub because half of the water will fall in the tub and half out.

Once hanging, you can squeeze some of the water out of the rig, starting from the top down. It will actaully retain quite a bit of water, so the squeezing really does help to dry it out. If you really want to dry it, follow up the first squeezing with one where you use a towel. It will grab any moisture that won't run off the rig and would try to soak back in after being squeezed.

It should be dry within 36 to 48 hours.

Or you can throw it in the spin cycle in your washing machine once or twice (try throwing in a pair of jeans on the opposite side of the drum to ballance it), it will squeeze out most of the moisture. I also hang the rig in my shower on a bar and have a small fan blowing air underneath. Dry in 6-8 hrs

[davelepka 4]

Quote

Or you can throw it in the spin cycle in your washing machine once or twice (try throwing in a pair of jeans on the opposite side of the drum to ballance it), it will squeeze out most of the moisture. I also hang the rig in my shower on a bar and have a small fan blowing air underneath. Dry in 6-8 hrs

The first time or two I washed rigs I actaully used the washing machine for the whole thing, but later I got spooked about the idea of my rig being inside a machine with moving parts, so now I just do the whole thing by hand. It's only once a year, during the winter layoff, so I have time.

They do usually do dry quicker then the time I gave, but I wanted to avoid anyone trying to wash a rig and then hand it to a rigger the next day expecting a repack. There's a lot of nooks and crannies on a rig that might still be a little damp, so just to be sure, I figured 36 to 48 hours was a 'sure' estimate that everything would be 100% dry.

For anyone who doesn't already do it, a yearly wash will do wonders for a rig. If you jump in a seasonal area, the winter layoff is a prime time to get it done. Jumpers in year round areas just need to bite the bullet and be without a rig for a couple extra days once a year, especially since they probably use their rigs more anyway. Most rigger are willing to do the wash for a fee, which is nice because then you know it's handled properly if you don't want to do it yourself.

It really is a snap. Stick to rigger approved soap, cold water, a soft brush and your own two hands, and there's not too much that can go wrong.

[Bip 0]

Here is a thread from when I washed my rig.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3989523;page=unread#unread

[airtwardo 7]

For the most part I land standing up and pack indoors so my rig doesn't get 'nasty' dirty.

When I blow the reserve for the winter repack, I trash bag it and go over the HC with the upholstery attachment on our carpet cleaner...one tank of hot water with a cap-full of woolite, then another of just water to 'rinse' any residue left over.

The attachment has a very soft brush and the machine powerfully vacuums the water and dirt up as you go...faster and easier than the tub wash protocol, for a used not abused rig it seems to work fairly well. I've done this on several rigs over that last ten years.

I was up in Illinois a couple months ago, saw a guy 'power-washing' a Javelin at the car-wash. I'm guessing he had the reserve bagged in the trunk, the rig was hanging by the risers from the closed trunk lid...he was using the shitty car wash soap when I saw him, I left before he got to the wax.

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[skydiverek 63]

How to wash a container, by UPT:

http://www.unitedparachutetechnologies.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46

[wmw999 2,460]

Quote

You know, I DID wash a canopy in a washing machine once.

I have too. I kept the links and risers on, and just wrapped them in a couple of heavy socks.

It looked new again , and flew just fine.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[DBCOOPER 5]

Man you guys all do it the hard way.

I just pull the cut away and reserve handle while simulating a spinning malfunction. Then I just say "wash it too".

Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

[tdog 0]

Quote

Remove anything that isn't bolted down. Fill a clean bathtub with cold water and cup (ish) of mild soap like Wollite. Insert rig and submerge it and swoosh it around.

Hit any really bad areas with a soft brush. I've had good results (as-in not damaging the rig) with natural fiber brushes like horse-hair, or similar.

Drain the water after an hour, and refill with clean water. Swoosh around and let sit. Drain that water and either refill with water and more soap if needed, or refill with more clean water.

In either case, follow with several more refill/drain cycles with clean water.

To dry, I use a couple of heavy duty plastic hangers over the shower curtain bar. You may have to cinch up the chest strap to keep the shoulders from sliding off the hanger. I drape a big towel over the edge of the tub because half of the water will fall in the tub and half out.

Once hanging, you can squeeze some of the water out of the rig, starting from the top down. It will actually retain quite a bit of water, so the squeezing really does help to dry it out. If you really want to dry it, follow up the first squeezing with one where you use a towel. It will grab any moisture that won't run off the rig and would try to soak back in after being squeezed.

It should be dry within 36 to 48 hours.

Good list. Here are a few additional tidbits.

1) Remove the AAD. Treat the cables carefully. If the cutter cable is fished thru a long (longer than a few inches) fabric channel, found on some rigs, tie a small string or dental floss to the cutter going thru the cutter hole and pull the string thru the channel as you remove the cutter. This string is for later use. Tie the string off to itself so it is a big loop. It will act as a pull string or fish tape for the re-installation of the cutter later. Your rigger who will repack the rig will thank you for it.

2) Remove the packing data card.

3) Remove the cutaway and reserve handles, wash separately.

4) I dry a bit differently. I open the legstraps completely and hang the rig upside down from the showerhead pipe by the legstraps. I find a lot of rigs have "pockets" that will drip water out quicker when upside down.

5) I have seen one rig get mild color bleed where red fabric slightly pinked the adjoining white fabric. If your rig has any white or very light colors (yellow, etc) think about this risk. The bleed happens as it dries. I have used a shopvac with a soft tool to suck the water out of the fabric in areas so it can dry very quickly. May help some.

6) If you need to do legstraps only, and you are willing to be extra careful, you can put the reserve in a trashbag and seal it off. Hang the whole rig in a dry bathtub by the harness using some rope so only the legstraps are in the tub. Take the reserve in the bag and attach it to the shower curtain rod, or lay on the counter if one is near by. Carefully wash the legstraps using the procedures above. I have even done it with the main and reserve still installed when I knew there was no way for the rig to fall the tub. Just don't get the container wet if the canopies, aad, or packing data card are in it.

[pchapman 279]

Having a fan is worth repeating.
Being able to blow air on the rig speeds up the drying process a lot. None of those damp nooks & crannies 3 days later.

[PullUpCord 0]

Cool! I can use this advice.

[3331 137]

This is what I've always used.

http://www.drugstore.com/dr-bronners-18-in-1-hemp-pure-castile-soap-peppermint/qxp40924?catid=184087

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[stratostar 5]

Quote

saw a guy 'power-washing' a Javelin at the car-wash. I'm guessing he had the reserve bagged in the trunk, the rig was hanging by the risers from the closed trunk lid...he was using the shitty car wash soap when I saw him,

When I went to apprentice for my R ticket, one of the dudes I studied under used to do that very method. In fact the first few rigs I ever cleaned were done that way "under supervision". When he was doing that blasting with soap/water in major high force pressure, I didn't it was such a great idea. Once I got my own T then I switched to the bath tub method, I think that is a very good way to do it over all ,but takes time to do.

Got one of those carpet cleaners, might have to try that method for spots. Also a machine wash works well depending on the machine. I would have never done it that way myself... not because I was worried about the rig, but the machine getting beat the shit out of from hardware. But old rigger friend of mine has been doing that way for yrs. I tried it on my rig, work just fine and way shorter then tub method, I still like the tub way the best, you can work the stains out better IMHO.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo