Cleaning fly lines

[Wildfisher]

A soft cotton dish towel is good too Alex, but as you say avoid any cloth that deposits lint.

[13Fisher1]

i used to inspect lines by running them under a digital microscope :?

no need to clean a fly line unless it gets dirty, if you do its not a good idea to use detergent, it leaches out the plasticisers that keep the line supple,

lubing with a line treatment is another matter, takes 2 mins to run a bit of lubed up cloth from one end to the other, replaces plasticisers, this makes a bigger  difference to ease of casting than buying a new line or rod, the cast is smoother, hauling easier, and the line shoots way further, i lube at least daily when fishing, snowbee line lube, about a quid, lasts a season, a well maintained line improves with age, they get harder and more slipy as they build up a patina,
said it before but i handed a rod to someone at the casting club, they were not impressed, 5 mins later handed them another rod and it was the best rod they ever picked up, what rod is that? the same one with the line cleaned.

Agree with Alan, line really zings when I have treated with line plasticiser/restorer ( must look for name of one I used ), I didn't o it as often though as Alan but that's just laziness on my part.

[Hill loch gold]

Thanks for all the advice folks

I'll give my lines a good clean over the wknd and will have a look on-line, for snowbee line slick or something similar.

Cheers again
Alan

[Wildfisher]

Remember don't put line slick on anything other than floating lines. 

[Traditionalist]

i used to inspect lines by running them under a digital microscope :?

no need to clean a fly line unless it gets dirty, if you do its not a good idea to use detergent, it leaches out the plasticisers that keep the line supple,

lubing with a line treatment is another matter, takes 2 mins to run a bit of lubed up cloth from one end to the other, replaces plasticisers, this makes a bigger  difference to ease of casting than buying a new line or rod, the cast is smoother, hauling easier, and the line shoots way further, i lube at least daily when fishing, snowbee line lube, about a quid, lasts a season, a well maintained line improves with age, they get harder and more slipy as they build up a patina,
said it before but i handed a rod to someone at the casting club, they were not impressed, 5 mins later handed them another rod and it was the best rod they ever picked up, what rod is that? the same one with the line cleaned.

It is impossible to replace plasticisers in PVC, they are added at manufacture, ( no need to believe me, look it up,,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasticizer ), and there is no known way to replace them in finished products like PVC although all sorts of stuff is sold that purportedly does so, all these things are scams, it is quite impossible.  Detergent has little or no effect on the plasticisers in PVC, they are part of the structure of the plastic.  They will however deteriorate over time.  There is nothing you can do about it.  Using various lubricants on the line will improve performance on a CLEAN line, if you put them on a dirty line then you end up with very fine grinding paste, especially in sandy environments, this will damage the line and your rod rings.

[Hill loch gold]

Remember, don't put line slick on anything other than floating lines. 

Cheers fred, i'll keep that in mind

[Allan Crawford]

I have cleaned lines in the past but these days I don't have time to clean fly lines. Snowbee line lube sounds good, I'm guessing it helps floating lines float and therefore not useful for sinking lines?

[Traditionalist]

I have cleaned lines in the past but these days I don't have time to clean fly lines. Snowbee line lube sounds good, I'm guessing it helps floating lines float and therefore not useful for sinking lines?

What most of the various dressings do is coat the line with lubricant. Some of these lubricants also contain "floatant" of various types. It is a very bad idea to use this on sinking lines. What happens is that the lines will no longer cut the surface film. If you have done this accidentally you will discover that a sink-tip will no longer sink ( unless you slash it down hard).  The only way to remove this is with iso-propyl alcohol.  A good wipe down with dilute fairy liquid will keep most lines pristine for a very long time.  If you use various dressings on floating lines, they float higher as they no longer penetrate the surface film. You may or may not want this depending on how you fish. If, for instance, you use a "neutral" density line and treat it with floatant it will behave like a silk line, and float ON the surface film. Plastic floating lines normally float due to positive buoyancy.  They penetrate the film and displace water equivalent to their buoyancy. This is due to the hollow glass balls which are integrated into the PVC.

You have to be careful what dressings you use and what for. There are so many old wives tales extant about this that it just is not funny at all and confuses people very badly.

Soaking plastic fly lines in various stuff in the hope of changing the properties of the line is absolutely pointless, it wont work, and will likely damage the line.

Both Highlander and Fred gave you the best advice. Wash the line in warm soapy water now and again and dry with a soft lint free cloth.  You don't need to use any dressings at all. If you do use a dressing then make sure you know what it is and why you are using it.

Some general info;  http://www.flyfishusa.com/lines/choose-line-home.html

[Guddler]

I'm guessing it helps floating lines float and therefore not useful for sinking lines?

Yes and yes - and don't use too much and end up with it all over yours fingers, then leader, then tippet and watch it all bob around on top of the water!  :roll:  :lol:

[Allan Crawford]

Yes and yes - and don't use too much and end up with it all over yours fingers, then leader, then tippet and watch it all bob around on top of the water!  :roll:  :lol:

Thanks Mike!
I guess I'm good at guessing  :
Guddler Bobbing around on top of the water is my go to method