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wildernessmedic

Washing a container?

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councilman24

Pay an EXPERIENCED rigger to do.the job. You don't know what you don't know. And a baby rigger may not have been trained on doing.it.



While I respect the sentiment behind this suggestion, I'd offer a counter that this can be one of those learning opportunities for a thoughtful non-rigger. I have on more than one occasion disassembled rigs for washing, and found it to be well within my skill set, so long as I proceeded carefully and thoughtfully. That meant making sure to keep the lines on both canopies organized (I used cards but there's other ways, of course), to carefully place all the parts in a container so nothing went missing, to take a good look at how the AAD was installed so I could carefully extract it without damaging anything, etc. I read a lot and asked a lot of questions about how best to wash the container, and followed said advice.

With all the MAJOR respect to the work that riggers do, this wasn't rocket science. When I was between jobs and wanted to wash my rig, I appreciated the extra money in my pocket. When I was preparing to sell a container, it was faster to do it myself than to coordinate with my rigger who doesn't live anywhere close to me.
"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

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And you have more than 33 jumps and are not playing with your first rig. ;)

I've seen harness ruined by damage to reserve risers caused by sharp french links and careless newbies. I've seen a washed rig hung out in the sun to dry. I've seen those lines not on a card but complete off any link or other tie so that each individual line was floating free tangled around each other.

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I read a lot and asked a lot of questions about how best to wash the container, and followed said advice.



I don't get the idea this guy has. My advice was specific to the OP.

It may be a learning opportunity. But that implies a teacher.:) And I don't consider youtube the appropriate teacher for your last chance to live.

I also would not recommend washing a rig before selling and losing the evidence of honest wear. Let the buyer decide whether to wash it or live with it.

Frankly I don't want to wash a rig, have never washed one of mine, and try to talk people out of it. But some light colored rigs do benefit.

And, from the latest FAA Rigger Handbook

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Cleaning and Washing Procedures
• Applicable products: Most harness and container systems
• Description: Cleaning and washing parachute components
• Authorized repairmen: FAA Senior or Master Parachute Rigger



Washing has always been considered something that a rigger should do. I fully agree that a knowledgeable, well read, well advised jumper experienced in handling gear could do it themselves. I did lots of crap I wasn't supposed to do in the old day. But I'm not going to advise someone with 33 jumps to wash their own rig. They might decide like one newbie customer I had to change their rig from blue to black using laundry markers on all the visible surfaces.
I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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Dunk it in soapy water, scrub, and repeat.

After 15 baths and scrubs the water will run clear.

Hang it with coat hanger or something and dry them in shady windy area, takes about solid day and half to dry them in very dry hot (so-cal) weather.

Don't wash it if the weather looks like it is about to rain.
Bernie Sanders for President 2016

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councilman24

Washing has always been considered something that a rigger should do. I fully agree that a knowledgeable, well read, well advised jumper experienced in handling gear could do it themselves. I did lots of crap I wasn't supposed to do in the old day. But I'm not going to advise someone with 33 jumps to wash their own rig. They might decide like one newbie customer I had to change their rig from blue to black using laundry markers on all the visible surfaces.



I could not agree more. This spring I watched someone scrub at least 500 jumps out of his brand new H/C because he had landed in the muddy field and wanted to clean it himself without paying a rigger to disassemble and wash it. Nothing to be done against a stubborn type A personality. It's like arguing with a drunk.

-Michael

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riggerrob

Yes, a junior jumper might be able to wash his own rig???
But if he is smart, he will do the work under the supervision of a rigger.



^This. Big time.

None of it is rocket science. Disconnect main & reserve, remove AAD, and wash it.

BUT...

Doing it so that nothing is damaged, doing it so nothing gets tangled/twisted/messed up, doing it so that reassembly isn't a nightmare; that takes at least a little bit of understanding.

Some jumpers know their gear well and can do it just fine.

Others...

Not so much.

To the OP -

Discuss this with your rigger. He/she may want to do the disassembly, or may just want to talk you through it. Also may have suggestions/tips for the actual task of washing it.

I would strongly suggest against "just doing it" and then taking a loose reserve, loose main, loose AAD and empty container to your rigger without any warning.
"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

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Thanks for the advice. I will have my rigger do it or at least supervise when I get my repack and some work done to it.

If it wasn't for the smell of someone else's vomit I wouldn't care. Smells like some old WWII surplus gear.

I like getting to know every detail of my gear. But I'll do it under supervision for now.

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My container smells faintly of puke. Not sure if in it's long life (manufactured in 1989...) someone puked on it somehow or if it's just an old musty smell.



As nylon cordura ages, it starts to smell a little like puke (I think rigs that get a little damp are maybe more susceptible to the stink. Might be a fun experiment to try to figure out why some rigs reek and others don't). If that's what's going on with your rig, no number of washes will make that smell go away.

I tend to agree with Terry that washing is best left to an experienced rigger, but if you decide to do it yourself, don't forget to pull your AAD and cover all the exposed hook velcro first ;).

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When I was a rigger by far the thing I was most concerned with was the rinsing and drying aspects.

You don't have to scrub 600 times to get it clean. A couple cycles and you are fine.

However, being the paranoid sort I always rinsed the sh*t out of them, to include letting them sit overnight in clean rinse water culminating in taking a shower with the rig in as cold water as I could stand, making sure to rinse out all the soap from all the nooks and crannies around the hardware with the shower head.

I know its only Woolite but I did not want anything but Nylon left in the Nylon.

For drying I generally let it dry a long time. Washing someones rig was basically a 4-5 day ordeal.

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What would Vic Mackey do?

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For drying I generally let it dry a long time. Washing someones rig was basically a 4-5 day ordeal.



That's where having a fan is a huge help.
I'm not big on letting a washed rig sit around damp and soggy for days. A cheap $20 box fan has the airflow to dry the rig fast. Maybe 95% overnight, or a full day at the very most, for every nook and cranny on a well padded modern rig.

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