Cleaning dirty lines

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[iwannafly]

My lines are green. I was trying to fly my kite in one of the "no fly zones" while camping on the north shore of Lake Erie. A narrow beach with a tree lined 30-40 foot ridge. First try, no good. I waited for the wind to pick up and found it was good if I stood out in the water with it just past my knees. It worked great for long time. So long my neck was getting sore from looking up at my kite. There was too many people around for me to try anything other than loops and figure 8's. When I landed my kite my lines went in the water. When I got it back in the air I found my line had become fouled with algea. Still flew though When I called it quits, my lines went into the water again and collected more nasty green algea. It was bad. As I was winding my lines, I had maybe 15-20 pounds of the stuff caught in my lines. It has even better when my wife tried to help by undoing my lines from the kite. Now I'm up to about 40 pounds of green seaweed tangled in my lines with a big knot in the end.

 After I had everything sorted out I noticed my lines are now stained green and smell like the lake. Any ideas on how to clean my lines and get rid of the smell at least? I can live with the colour as it matches my kite , but the smell has got to go. What kind of cleaners can I use that will not harm my lines?

[melnsct]

soak them in warm water and shampoo

[Allen Carter]

Yup, water & mild soap is generally OK. Try soaking them on the winder first and rinsing well and see if you get anywhere. Easier. Otherwise, stretch them out in the yard and use a sponge.

[stapp59]

I usually wrap them on the winder a little loosely and give them a power wash with a water hose  which gets rid of most of the dirt.  Certainly pre soaking in some mild soap will help with the stains.

I'd be tempted to put the winder in a laundry bag and toss them in with the next load but have not done this myself.  Spectra is pretty robust and the warm water and soap should not hurt them if rinsed well.

Warning!  Spectra will melt at relatively low temps.  Do NOT put them in the dryer...

[ezme6]

all my line sets are not even close to being white anymore

[tpatter]

I spray mine with silicon every 2-3 months, but don't bother to clean them.  Keeps them reasonably slippery.

[tempest]

Yup, wind loosely on winder. soak in water and mild soap and a little febreeze, then give it a scrub and everything will be fine. Your lines will dry while flying. 

[chilese]

Real kiters fly with dirty lines. 

[streamhawk]

Real kiters fly with dirty lines. 

it's a dirty job, but....

[iwannafly]

Thanks. I let my lines soak in a sink of warm water with a bit of dish soap and gave them a scrub with a soft nail brush. Gave them a good rinse and strung them out in my back yard to dry. The green is mostly gone, and they look a lot better.

By the way, I don't mind if my lines get dirty. I just wanted to get rid of the smell.