Harnesses - how to clean?

[braddo]

My Caterham has old red 4-point harnesses and they're pretty grotty from years of dirt and (the previous owners'!) sweat.

Has anyone cleaned their harnesses by a gentle soak and handwash? A bit of googling showed some people believe that the harnesses are weakened if they become soaked? It seems unlikely to me because otherwise racers would be replacing their harnesses after a couple of wet races...

Thanks

[BertBert]

I've successfully washed caterham harnesses with warm water, mild soap washing powder and a nail brush. Worked well, I just kept the buckle out of the water.

Can't see any reason why that would be detrimental.

[Skyedriver]

Was looking at my red ones today and thinking 29 years of muck.....

[DoubleD]

Wet wipes might be a good option?

[V7SLR]

Soap and water are fine, the main things that will degrade the Nylon webbing are direct exposure to sunlight, and .... the abrasion of the dirt in the weave from not washing them.

[braddo]

Thanks, I'll give it a go.

Removal of the shoulder harnesses looks pretty straightforward, right? Literally just remove the plastic cap and undo the bolt?

[V7SLR]

Yes .... although sometimes with a single diagonal FIA bar fitted it's not possible to remove the LH passenger shoulder strap without first removing the roll bar bolts to allow the rollbar to be lifted a little as the harness bolt is removed. Fitting a shorter harness bolt solves this.