Cleaning Kites…how do you do yours?
popeyethewelder.com/facebook quesions
2012
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Eric Schuch – not very often the last one i soaked in the tub with bio tek and rinsed on the clothes line
- Buggy Paul – Dont Just rain !!!
- Eduardo Lopez – This is a good topic, i wash them by hand and only with water, sometimes I use a Karcher to put pressure to the water. Any special soap recommended?
- Karen Cartlidge – You’re meant to clean them?!
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Eric Schuch – With mine the cat had sprayed on it so had to clean the kite, generally i suppose it is when it gets wet in the rain is considered cleaning it
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Nic Kay Oss O’Neill – two capfuls of white vinegar in a spray bottle of water….. took all the playa dust off and restored the kite. Air dry!
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Carlos Urtiaga – Years ago I used to take the lines off the kite, coil the bridles and keep these together with elastic bands and stuff the kite in a pillow case and put on a cold wash with no detergent in the washing machine. Then dry in the sun…
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John Trainor – Keep them in the sky or in the bag then they stay clean lol
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Fast Freddy – ?Nic Kay Oss O’Neill said it! white vinegar for the playa dust.
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Nick Thompson – I have used Nick wax Tech Wash as this doesn’t remove the waterproof coatings just soak in a tub for about an hour or so with warm water and the amount of crap that it shifts is great. Then if you like you can re-coat with Nick wax TX direct wash in and it works great.
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Carlos Fandango – Just found this Kite Shampoo
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KiteBuggy BagMan – lol, i spun dry some years back, quick change round needed as they were rank
- Pete Gough – Drop it in the sea!!!! Then let it be licked dry by the dogs!!!!
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Matt Cook – put them in the washing machine with seal and glide
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Martin Smith – rince in fresh water and hang on the line to dry then a good shake to get the sand out
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Ken Shaw – Gravel and sand comes out immediately but, just like my bath schedule, once a year whether they need it or not… usually after NABX.
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3m and under go in the machine in a long mesh laundry bag I made on gentle cycle with vinegar and a touch of dish soap, then once around again with no vinegar or soap. Fly until dry. Bridle tangles don’t happen if you secure them properly… IF you secure them properly… You’ll only do it wrong ONE time. Bigger stuff gets the same treatment on the lawn with a garden hose.
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David Lees – Cleaning???????? Did it once on a kite (9m Blade) I bought from someone who’d dropped it in the sea. I just use the hose to gently run water all over the kite in order to wash out any unseen salt deposits.
- Kitezone Muriwai – When you kite gets to dirty, just sell and buy a new one
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Bobby Muse – I gave up after moving to the desert! It feels good to wash my buggy but 5 minutes into a ride you can’t tell its ever been wet. Futile efforts here.
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Wayne Carkeek – peg to clothes line with vents down hose up the inside , spray the outside , air dry
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Stephen Webb – Must be careful when wet and pegged on line, not to get kite in full sun….it’s not good for the material…or so I read somewhere? Mind you pegged out on a beach all day ?????:)
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Pete Stinson – Anyone who has had the misfortune to have snapped lines, landed kites on the disaster of a beach that was cherieaux France. Has anyone any tips for removing the mud stains that seems to have destroyed any kites that has landed on it?
- Bobby Muse – The dust we get on our kites here in the desert is very alkaline and we can use vinegar to break the ph bond it has on the fabric. You might try using white vinegar in a 50/50 solution of water on a spot and see if it helps.
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Alan Vidow – Try soaking in warm water water & gently rub with a cloth. I won’t risk anything in water.
- Matt Cook – put it in the washing machine in a pillow case
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Richard Gaughan – Get the kite hung over a washing line and clean it off as best you can with water and a clean sponge. I’ve heard people have used the pillow case & washing machine, but I’ve never been brave enough to use anything other than clean water and a sponge on my stuff. You probably won’t get clay stains out of the material, but you can make it look a whole lot better by cleaning off the worst. Allow the kite to dry completely and then treat it with SEALnGLIDE.Hope that’s a little help ;o)
- Robert Mitchell – Tried pure soap that I use to clean my Goretex with & the bath, No joy, we even had torrential down pours yesterday and I had a couple out on the line, no joy there either after at least 2 soakings.
next was some mixed seal & glide which normally lifts most marks…No joy either. May try the vinegar one…
Only seems to be the top black skin of the kite that’s affected, either that or I’ll keep my Grey & blue combats !! -
Richard Gaughan – Personally, I would be inclined to avoid the vinegar. Acetic acid level in white vinegar is about 4 to 8%, and acetic acid in its dilute form WILL have an effect on nylon (although I’m not sure about level of degradation of the material).
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John Trainor – That mud never come off and your’e right Bob Black is the worst colour I washed my old combat after getting stuck in the mud and having to put the kite down as soon as I got back from the beach but never got it clean to the day I sold it.
- Robert Mitchell – out this mnorning and had a go with Fairy Liquid on a cloth, a wee big better, will need to comnsider my options I think !!!
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Richard Gaughan – You’re gonna need to re-seal that kite – washing up liquid will strip any coating the kite had. It comes down to the weave – Porcher Marine is a seriously tight weave (unlike standard rip-stop) and yet, it can still become porous…