Rope Care

Rope care is an important part of Shibari/Rope bondage. While some ropes require very little care, some require quite a lot. Here’s some tips on how to care for your rope!

Nylon

Nails – One important thing (and it’s not a bad idea any time you do rope bondage) is to trim your nails and any hangnails or dead skin around your fingers or hands. This will prevent the Nylon fiber from catching and loosening the fibers.

Loose Fibers – If you do happen to catch your Nylon rope and some fibers come loose, you can simply cut the fibers off and burn the remaining bits away with a NON jet flame lighter (so a standard lighter). It's generally best practice to actually just hold the flame near the loose fibers, not directly on them. Only burn for a second and then run your fingers up the rope to smooth things out. It won’t be perfect, but it’s better! Note that Nylon will generally a light “fuzz” after extended use but it’s usually only visible if you’re looking at it very close up.

Cleaning – Nylon naturally repels oil so if you ever need to clean your rope, a damp cloth is usually all that’s needed. If you get something more serious on your rope, daisy chain your rope and place it in a pillow case or laundry bag and wash with warm or cold (not hot) water on a light setting then hang to dry.

Cotton

Cotton rope will naturally break down over time since it’s natural fiber, but should last a long time!

Nails – Less necessary than for Nylon, but trimming your nails or any loose/dead skin on your fingers will prevent the rope from catching.

Cleaning – If possible, avoid cleaning your cotton rope. If you really need to you can hand wash your cotton rope or wash on a light setting in your washer, using cold water and a mild detergent. The rope should be daisy chained and placed in a pillow case or laundry bag. Hang to dry, and pull/stretch the rope if the lay of the ropes looks bunched up.

POSH/SYRR

These ropes are very easy to maintain and can be cleaned in the same method as the Nylon above.

You should inspect for breaks/frays after a lot of use, especially if using for uplines. Use your own discretion on how much fraying is too much. These ropes are rated for 1100-1200 lbs so some minor fraying shouldn’t generally be much to worry about.