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Thanks for keeping a watchful eye Judy.

Ray

Thanks for replying to my PM Judy.

That's strange, Judy. I've always known never to use bleach - indeed, it will literally dissolve some sail cloths - but I've used that solution of ammonia myself before with no issues. I've also seen it recommended by sail folks. And the standard "sudsing" ammonia you buy in the store is usually pretty low concentration of ammonia to begin with.

My sister always said Simple Green was great for removing blood stains, but I don't think she was using it on sails.

The difference might be that the OP and Judy were referring to nylon (spinnaker sailcloth), and the main and headsails are Dacron polyester, which is more inert and tolerant of chemical attack(?)

-Brian.

I think the lesson learned from this thread is: Don't wrap the body in one of your sails.

robbarnes1965 wrote:I think the lesson learned from this thread is: Don't wrap the body in one of your sails.

Or if you have to use your sails, use plastic to keep clean for wrapping the next body.

Or, get with Drew Peterson about blood stains.

robbarnes1965 wrote:I think the lesson learned from this thread is: Don't wrap the body in one of your sails.

dlandersson wrote:Or, get with Drew Peterson about blood stains.

robbarnes1965 wrote:I think the lesson learned from this thread is: Don't wrap the body in one of your sails.

I usually just put 'em in an Igloo cooler.

good points all around, in other news, I hear someone is re-nameing there boat to "slice of life" ...........

I'm doing an experiment.
I took some samples of Nylon spinnaker cloth.
I'm soaking a sample in a solution of chlorine bleach.
I'm soaking a sample in a solution of ammonia.
I want to soak a square in solution of hydrodgen peroxide but... I can't find any around the house, dang it!

I'm torturing the nylon spinnaker cloth
I'll let you know what happens.

One thing I've noticed ...on the water for any extended time your feet and hand etc get quite soft and contact with sharp bits not usual....blood is not such an uncommon result...so much so gloves and wet shoes are now part of our equipment!!! AND DONT GRAB THAT GENOA SHEET WHICH HAS COME LOOSE....ROPE BURNS HURT

Judy,
What about Oxygen bleach like Oxy clean?
Less damaging than chlorine bleach, correct?

Judy B wrote:I'm doing an experiment.
I took some samples of Nylon spinnaker cloth.
I'm soaking a sample in a solution of chlorine bleach.
I'm soaking a sample in a solution of ammonia.
I want to soak a square in solution of hydrodgen peroxide but... I can't find any around the house, dang it!

I'm torturing the nylon spinnaker cloth
I'll let you know what happens.

Test results after soaking for about 4-5 hours, then rinsed several times and let it air dry. (This is not a very well executed or reported experiment )

I used 0.75 oz ChallengeFiberMax, a resin impregnated ripstop nylon as the test material http://www.challengesailcloth.com/nylon/fibermax.pdf.

1. Chlorine bleach observations:
Easier to tear than an untreated piece.
Feels softer to the touch
Can be stretched a little by hand but it doesn't "bounce" back to original flatness as well as an untreated piece.
The finish has lost a little of its "sheen"

2. Ammonia treatment observations:
Can be stretch a very little more by hand, doesn't bounce back as well as untreated piece, but better than the chlorind-treated piece
No change in sheen of the finish to the plain eye.

Based on this, here's my personal opinion --
I'd start with plain soap and water. Maybe woolite or similar super surfactant.
I'd avoid using chlorine bleach on nylon spinnaker cloth.
I might try a dilute solution of ammonia + mild soap for a very few minutes, , taking care to rinse carefully. DISCLAiMER - this might damage older nylon. see comments below about hydrophobic coatings.
If I really wanted to get it clean without damaging it, I'd send it out to a sailmaker who would soak it in a special cleaner like CS-530 or equivalent.

Some thoughts:
Uncoated polyester dacron is hydrophobic
Uncoated nylon is hydrophilic
Resin treatements/coatings used on sailcloths are general hydrophobic.
I suspect that the spinnaker nylon might have faired worse had I used older, beat up fabric. The resin treatment on older nylon tends to have deteriorated a bit from UV exposure. Older coatings might not have protected the nylon as well.

This wasn't a very well planned experiment, but I demonstrated to my own satifaction that chlorine bleach ain't good for spinnaker nylon.

Excellent work as usual Judy