Life jackets in cloths washer?

[Stumpalump]

Can I throw my life jackets in the cloths washer? Typical Stearns type jackets in the lighter tan or orange color are looking too grubby to ask passengers to put on and I'd like to wash them. Good idea or not?

 

[NYBo]

The directions printed on my Stearns PFDs say do not dry clean or machine wash. Sponge with warm, soapy water.

 

[fhhuber]

I mix some laundry soap in water and spray it on with an old windex bottle.. Scrub a bit with a damp rag, then hoze them off. Hang to dry.

Machine won't work... they things float and get tangled with the agitator of a normal machine.

I'm not sure what the result would be in a front loader... but I'm pretty sure the high speed spin won't do them any good.

 

[Stumpalump]

These have gotten so bad I'm gonna try the front loader on the hand washing cycle. Stay tuned......Just in case who has a deal on PFD's? Lol

 

[GA_Boater]

[No message]

 

[Scott Danforth]

I put some PFD's in the drier to speed up the drying process. the friction of the PFD's jamed against the plastic of the door melted the door.

Scrub by hand, hose off, and hang. I use a mixture of laundry detergent and bleach in a bucket, scrub with small scrub brush. when done with the PFD's I move on to the boat carpet.

 

[thumpar]

For the cheapy ones I just replace them every few years. It is not worth the time to try to clean and then sill have old dirty vests in the end.

 

[Ned L]

I wash them in the bathtub with some laundry detergent and a soft brush, then rinse them well. It seems to work well with no ill affects.

 

[Stumpalump]

They survived the cloths washer on the most gentle cycle. I used a small dose of detergent and selected extra rinse. I threw some hand towels in to help scrub them and they look good enough to get a few more years out of them. I hung them outside to dry and would recomend doing it.

 

[southkogs]

A little detergent ... a strap on a kid and take 'em tubing ...

 

[NYBo]

They survived the cloths washer on the most gentle cycle. I used a small dose of detergent and selected extra rinse. I threw some hand towels in to help scrub them and they look good enough to get a few more years out of them. I hung them outside to dry and would recomend doing it.

What's the condition of the flotation material?

 

[GA_Boater]

What's the condition of the flotation material?

Darn good question. I would be concerned with closed cell foam getting battered and breaking the cells open.

 

[smokeonthewater]

No offense but this is rediculous.... These are SAFETY items... If you have taken such poor care of them that they can't be easily hand washed THROW THEM AWAY.... The price of a few life jackets is nothing compared to someone dying.

 

[fhhuber]

Darn good question. I would be concerned with closed cell foam getting battered and breaking the cells open.

One of my concerns about the spin cycle in the front loader...

While I love my front load washer... because it IS less harmful to the clothes.
I wouldn't even think of stuffing my life jackets in it.

 

[JoLin]

No offense but this is rediculous.... These are SAFETY items... If you have taken such poor care of them that they can't be easily hand washed THROW THEM AWAY.... The price of a few life jackets is nothing compared to someone dying.

Can't imagine disregarding the manufacturer's instructions on something so critical. GA_boater's comment about potentially breaking down the foam is also spot on.

My .02

 

[Stumpalump]

They came out perfect. If they can't handle a cloths washer on gentle what do you think would happen in a water ski crash or falling out of a moving boat? These things are tuff nylon. A little grime from being in the garage, truck and boat needed to go. The cloths washer on gentle with half load of soap and extra rinse did an excellent job cleaning them right up. I'd do it again and recomend it. It's winter so why not start the new season with fresh clean gear? I did my dock lines and anchor line in a bucket of warm water and laundry soap and now everything is as clean as new.

 

[GA_Boater]

Like I said earlier, it's the flotation foam I would be concerned about. The stuff that saves your life isn't the nylon cover. I wouldn't wash them in a machine, but I'm not the one relying on those nice, clean life saving devices for my family and friends. My opinion.

 

[smokeonthewater]

I had a life jacket from the time I was about 12 until about 5 years ago.... It was still clean and looked perfectly fine but I threw it away just because of age... decided my nephew's life was easily worth a few bucks for a new one...

I kept that jacket looking good for 25 years.... A life jacket that needs more than a light hand washing hasn't been taken care of and is already trash before the pros or cons of a washing machine come into the picture....

grime from garage or truck or boat bilge.... what is said grime made of? grease? oil? gasoline? ... traces of anything that might attack nylon or foam... who knows.....

I'd say you could be about 95% sure that those jackets are absolutely fine and safe......

a 5% chance they aren't is WAY too much.

 

[JoLin]

Stumpalump, you asked advice from more knowledgable boaters. You got it. An impact from a fall overboard bears about zero relationship to prolonged agitation in a machine. Your comment that you'd do it again and recommend it is disturbing. Ignoring our advice and the manufacturer's directions is one thing. That's up to you, though we all feel you're putting your passengers at some degree of risk. Passing your own stubbornness on to others as 'a good idea' is just not right.

Your PFD is the last thing standing between you and a drowning. It needs to be treated right and replaced if necessary. Simply can't fathom why you don't get that.

My .02

 

[fhhuber]

I'd rather have a dirty PFD that works than a pretty one that doesn't.