Any harm in ironing a Nomex chute protector?

My chute protector was stuffed in my airframe for half a year, and I forgot. Now it is very decidedly crumpled, and won't flatten out. Is there any harm in ironing it? If you've done this, what setting on the iron? Is steam okay?

Bat-mite said:

My chute protector was stuffed in my airframe for half a year, and I forgot. Now it is very decidedly crumpled, and won't flatten out. Is there any harm in ironing it? If you've done this, what setting on the iron? Is steam okay?

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Half a year??

I have had ones stuffed for several years. Its just cloth, it shouldnt need ironing.....unless you are going somewhere fancy.

Just pull it out and re-wrap it again. It should be fine.

Be careful, you might just loose your man-card for that...:y:

Don't want to loose my card, so will not ask about washing these....

As long as there is some distance between where the nomex is connected to the cord and where the parachute is connected even being wrinkled it should easily pull out an inflate just fine.

I hand wash mine in a pail of water with detergent, rinse and hang to dry. Keeps em nice!

Bat-mite said:

Is there any harm in ironing it?

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Only if you over-starch.

blackjack2564 said:

Only if you over-starch.

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A little FaBreeze never hurts either.

Ahhhhh,

I can appreciate John's concern. If the protector has "assumed" a fixed scrunched up shape, there could conceiveably be some hanging of the parachute and delayed deployment. I don't see any problem with ironing but rinsing it out with soap and water followed by ironing might flatten it out anew. You won't lose your mancard in my book if you're trying to keep your deployments straight:handshake:Kurt

Now, see? There's a reasonable response. oint:

All kidding aside, I just finished removing shock cord, nomex & chutes from several rockets.

I wash them by hand in hot water and soap powder, in a bucket, rinse several times and let soak overnight.

Hang them up to dry next day.Amazing how much crud accumulates over a couple of flying seasons. Been doing this for years.

Nomex will get really stiff from all the burnt BP residue & a good wash once in a while brings back the suppleness of the cloth.
I also wipe out the payload and fin cans to eliminate the Bp residue .

Nomex should never be ironed. Direct heat on the threads degrades it. In the fire service you wash then hang your gear in a warm location to dry. They replace our gear every so often because the heat exposures along with wear & tear just reduces it's protective ability.

Being a wildland fire fight who wears nomex, I would caution against using detergent. Residual detergent that is not completely removed from the nomex will reduce it's fire resistance. Nomex is NOT fire proof, it will char. Plan water is best for nomex.

DuPonts care guide for Nomex:

June 2002
NOMEX® is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
1
NOMEX® Wash and Care guidelines
I Temperature and duration of washing and drying cycles:
•
Fabrics made from 100% Nomex® brand fi
bre can be washed up to 95 degrees C.
•
It is adequate to wash Nomex® garments at
60 degrees C. Using a higher temperature may not
bring any benefit, and indeed may simply contri
bute to overall energy c
onsumption. In addition,
extended periods of physical agit
ation can cause fabric shrinkage
, because the individual yarns
and fibres can become interlocked.
•
The garment manufacturer may recommend
washing at 40-60 degrees C due to other
accessories such as reflective stripes, moisture membranes, etc.
•
The washing cycle need not exceed 1 hour.
•
Always include a rinse cycle that adequate
ly removes residual soaps and detergents.
•
At the end of the wash cycle, the alkaline pH en
vironment is neutralized
by addition of a dilute
acid such as acetic acid.
•
Drying can be done in either a tu
mble drier or a tunnel finisher.
•
For tumble drying, outlet temperatures from th
e drum can be set up to 100C. The important
factor in drying is not to over-dry
. It is better to give the garm
ents a shorter drying cycle and
remove them while still slightly damp (up to
10% humidity by weight), than to remove them
bone-dry. Again, this is because excessive ag
itation can cause locali
zed damage such as
abrasion and, in extreme cases, garment shrinkage.
•
For tunnel finishing, air temperat
ure should be set at 155C with
an operating time of minimum
4 minutes. The load is considered to be dry
when the load temperature (ie garment surface
temperature) is 135-140C.

cbrarick said:

Nomex should never be ironed. Direct heat on the threads degrades it. In the fire service you wash then hang your gear in a warm location to dry. They replace our gear every so often because the heat exposures along with wear & tear just reduces it's protective ability.

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I would think if one uses a lower setting on the iron it wouldn't harm it much if one has a recalcitrant crease they are trying to remove.
If the creases are gone after washing/drying, I agree, why take an iron to it then.? If one uses it long enough, the thing will eventually degrade and will need to be replaced anyways unless it's just lost along with the rocket from that "let's see how big of a motor we can put in here" flight. Kurt