Mike, Chlorine and bleach are two different animals. Chlorine is either a gas or in aqueus form (liquid) consisting of almost pure chlorine gas atoms. Bleach is a very light Sodium Hypochlorite (NaCl) compound (less than 10%) dissolved in water. Bleach will give off a chlorine gas which kills germs and living material. The sodium element in bleach is what will make braided docklines brittle, just as it will make your whitewash laundry brittle over time. It is for this same reason that you are cautioned not to use common bleach in your swimming pool ... it will eventually make the pool fittings, hoses, etc. brittle over time, causing premature failure. Liquid chlorine is a better choice for cleaning docklines because it does not contain the sodium atom and will only kill the mold spores and algae on the docklines. It will not remove dead mold or algae. Only washing the lines will remove the dead mold and algae. Normally what I will do is don a pair of rubber gloves, pour a gallon of chlorine in a bucket, grab the dockline and submerge it in the chlorine for a few seconds, sloshing it around and then remove it promptly. That should be plenty enough time to kill anything living on the dockline. From there, it's off to the washer. Washing the lines in a normal clothes washer with Tide and some Downy fabric softener will clean and recondition the lines. Normally, I will just let the lines air dry outside. You will notice that after cleaning your docklines in this fashion, mold and algae will not appear on the line for a much longer time period since all previous mold and algae has been killed. Incidently, liquid chlorine is available at most pool stores as well as Menards and Home Depot for about $1-$2 per gallon. I hope this helps..... -Ryan -----Original Message----- From: trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces@lists.samurai.com [mailto:trawlers-and-trawlering-bounces@lists.samurai.com] On Behalf Of Mike Cowan Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2004 6:09 PM To: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com Subject: Re: T&T: RE: Moldy Lines Would Chlorine Bleach like used in the washing machine be acceptable and maybe less toxic? Mike At 06:42 PM 10/23/2004, Ryan R. Healy wrote: >I second the use of liquid swimming pool chlorine. What I do is douse the >lines several times in 100% chlorine (wear rubber gloves) which will kill >the mold spores immediately and prevent regrowth of mold and algae. From >there, put the lines in a clothes washer, HOT water setting and wash with >some Tide and a generous amount of Downy fabric softener in the rinse. Let >the lines air dry. They will be like brand new, soft, snowy white and will >not be the least bit brittle. > >I've kept docklines for years with an occasional cleaning. > >Regards, > >Ryan Healy >Dundee, IL >m/v "4 Play" >_______________________________________________ >http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering > >To Unsubscribe send email to trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com >Include the word Unsubscribe (and nothing else) in the subject or body of >the message. Mike Cowan MV Sue's Pool III 65 Hatteras LRC hull #2 Off-List email: mikec@wirelessconnections.net _______________________________________________ http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/trawlers-and-trawlering To Unsubscribe send email to trawlers-and-trawlering-request@lists.samurai.com Include the word Unsubscribe (and nothing else) in the subject or body of the message.