Washing Machines
Be careful with these machines! Efficient and German they may be, they also have a psychopathetic control system. Interrupting them, or changing the dial once they start, is really dangerous - they can arbitrarily flip themselves into a 90 degree wash, which obviously requires any PPE locked within the drum to be discarded! For safety I generally dial up the programme before even closing the front...
The normal delicate cycle takes about 45 minutes, with a pre wash, about an hour.
Pre-wash can be added on all cycles by selecting the +1 button. This is really good for very dirty ropes, or stinking furries. With furries you'll probably want to add a little bit of powder into the pre-wash compartment (the small one)
Ropes - flake tightly + add lots of stopper locks to the head. Place around drum of washing machine + wash on 30 Delicate with no detergent. Don't overstuff as friction against the glass plate while spinning can melt ropes! Pad with neoprene if the drum is really empty - stops the spin cycle from being too vibronic, and reduces chance of uncoiling + tangling.
Furries - try and have a 100% polyester wash, as it will spin dry itself almost completely. Might as well use 40 / synthetic. Just a bit of cotton / neoprene and it's all a lot more damp. You can tumble dry them, ideally in two dryers at once (you can wash a lot more than you can dry). Use detergent - shampoo is a good substitute if we're out of laundry stuff.
Neoprene - don't wash whole wetsuits! Usually put in with misc bits of muddied gear, such as footloops + cowstails / harnesses / etc. If the cowstails are suitably padded with neoprene stuff in the drum, you don't need to remove the carabiners. Ideally turn off the spin cycle (there's a button to do that). Don't use detergent. Delicate cycle (30C).
