Cleaning playa dust from canvas..

junglesmacks · Post by **junglesmacks** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:56 am

No matter what I do, I can't seem to get the playa off of my canvas backpack. I've put in the the washer, I've brushed it with dish soap.. nada. It looks clean, and then when it dries all the dirt rings come right back. Being a dark green color doesn't help either..

Any tricks?

Pink Daddy · Post by **Pink Daddy** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:01 am

Wash it again, throw a tablespoon of vinegar in with the soap. Then, keep it in the washing machine when the load is done and wash it immediately a second time, just with soap. Dry however you'd like. If the rings remain after that, you're stuck.

Bounce530 · Post by **Bounce530** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:03 am

Wash it in the washing machine again, but use vinegar instead of soap.
opps, just like PD said.

baconqurlyq · Post by **baconqurlyq** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:12 am

Yup, what Pink Daddy said. I washed my husband's and my camelbaks over the weekend. Set the washer to half hour soak, regular cycle, then second rinse, TWICE, both times with about a cup of vinegar thrown in once the water was full (use it like bleach). Hung them both to dry.

There still some Playa stains on the mesh backs, but I think they'll still be usable for when we're on long rides and need to have a ton of water with us.

The CO · Post by **The CO** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:38 am

Follow the above advice, and if it doesn't all come out, wear it with pride. You've been to BRC, and the right people might even recognize why it looks the way it does.

Lassen Forge · Post by **Lassen Forge** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:42 am

You stole my thoughts exactly!

What's wrong with a little playa dust? Plus, if its all gone, then what can you *sniff* to get recharged!!!

junglesmacks · Post by **junglesmacks** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:52 am

Bay Bridge Sue wrote:You stole my thoughts exactly!

What's wrong with a little playa dust? Plus, if its all gone, then what can you *sniff* to get recharged!!!

Lol.. yeah it's all good. In the end it's ok. The only reason why I'm trying to get it good and clean though is because it's a pretty nice pack, and I use it all the time when I travel for business. I walk in to board rooms dressed in a tie with that thing, so it would be nice if it was cleaner rather than dustier. All good though..

baconqurlyq · Post by **baconqurlyq** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:37 pm

I don't mind some Playa dust lingering, particularly on stuff I'm not going to use unless I'm on the Playa. But dang that stuff is weird when it gets away from the lake bed. It gets kind of...funky. Once it starts getting infused with non-alkali chemicals it all goes wrong. Part of the magic of the playa while you're there is how it neutralizes odors. But then it comes back with you and loses that magic and...ick.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:02 pm

Huh ?

the dust in my Toyata truck(which is also my MV) hasn't been washed out for 7 or 8 years now, it still smells and acts like playa dust when is disturbed.

The last time I washed it I used the pressure washer at a car wash on the entire interior.
Floor, seats, and dash.

You prolly don't wanna try this with the car you are driving right now.

Token · Post by **Token** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:05 pm

What you need to do is the following:

Eat a pound of steamed asparagus and down four beers within one hour of the meal.

Put the backpack on the neighbors lawn and wiz on it a few times.

Let the pack sit in the sun for ~ four hours and then just rinse it off with a garden hose.

The dust will still be there but no one will really care.

weirdscience · Post by **weirdscience** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:11 pm

Token wrote:What you need to do is the following:

Eat a pound of steamed asparagus and down four beers within one hour of the meal.

Put the backpack on the neighbors lawn and wiz on it a few times.

Let the pack sit in the sun for ~ four hours and then just rinse it off with a garden hose.

The dust will still be there but no one will really care.

i love this guy

Trishntek · Post by **Trishntek** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:30 pm

Token! We Laughed Our Asses off! Thanks for a late-night piece of joy!

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Mon Sep 27, 2010 11:42 pm

The PH of your piss doesn't do much to change the corrosive properties of the alkalai dust.

just sayin'....

teardropper · Post by **teardropper** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:31 am

Some people are easily entertained...

There seems to be an old saw about what to bring to the playa. I think it's don't bring anything you can't stand to lose or ruin. Packs, camelbacks, boots, even things like coolers. Pretty much everything, by now, is dedicated. What's not, I live with it. Yeah, it's a badge of the playa.

junglesmacks · Post by **junglesmacks** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:40 am

Actually, the long hot wash/soak with a bunch of vinegar then normal hot wash cycle worked wonders! Thanks!

The only material that it didn't get it totally out of is the nylon webbing straps. Other than that, totally clean.

dragonpilot · Post by **dragonpilot** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:06 pm

Then I guess I'm too late in suggesting spraying the pack in denatured alcohol, allowing the playa dust to soak up the alcohol, then tossing a match on the pack. The alcohol will burn off the dust.

Be sure to do this in the middle of your street when the traffic is light.

I don't know why I am saying this.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:41 pm

Maybe because you're a wild-eyed psychotic pyromaniac?

Snow · Post by **Snow** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 12:51 pm

you say that like its a bad thing