What are your procedures for cleaning bunker gear?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on March 11, 2008 at 8:04pm

Hey - give us some time to get on the computer, will ya? :o)

We clean our gear in a heavy duty household type washer. We have a companion heavy-duty dryer to complete the process. Since we're a rural department our effluent goes into the septic. We wash gear whether it's lightly soiled with BBP or normal residential fire by-products. We use Tide or some such brand of laundry soap.

The county has a heavy duty washer for intense BBP or haz-mat contamination, although last summer we condemned two sets of gear after a really bad MVA.

We also put the coat/pant shell and liners in the dryer on low heat. We were originally told to use air fluff but it takes way too long to dry.

Our SOP calls for turnouts to be washed at least every six months.

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Permalink Reply by Chad on March 11, 2008 at 10:57pm

We purchased a commercial washer for our gear, and use a commericial bunker gear cleaner. Its up to the firefighter to maintain his gear. We don't see a lot of action, most of us wash our gear after ever call. We have a drying rack with an air heater/circulator.

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Permalink Reply by JS on March 12, 2008 at 4:36pm

We have a gear washer @ our station house and we wash all our gear there. We are required to wash our gear after any call that soils our gear, or if we have a period of time without any major calls we must wash it within 6 months.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on March 19, 2008 at 2:43pm

It's good to see this level of standard- I HATE the dirty look of uniforms. It's not a medal to have the dirtiest gear and helmet...

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Permalink Reply by ILDisasterEMT on March 15, 2008 at 7:22pm

I dont know what all of our firefighters do as I havent been around that long, but one of the most highly recommended methods is to pull the linings out, lay the bunkers out flat and scrub it with a natural fiber scrub brush (gently) with mild soap (like dove unscented and with no dyes). There is a great deal of debate that bunker washers can actually shorten the life of the gear, especially if it is the new globe "rip stop" type. I washed mine this way when they were issued to me and hung them in front of a fan blowing from a heater to dry and then put the linings back in. Honestly, there is not a whole lot of purpose in washing the linings after each fire as it wears it down as well and causes the fibers to separate in it as well. Also the point of washing is to get the creosote, soot, tar, etc off. Ive seen stuff that is washed in the hideously expensive bunker washers and I dont see any better results than I get when I wash mine by hand. It takes some time to scrub it and rinse it by hand, but I know how its being handled and dont have to worry about it since I air dry it. We have huge drying racks in our bays and a lot of the FFs wash this way and it works great. Does it take a little time? Sure. But so does cleaning and maintaining my helmet, visor, visor hinges, boots, etc. Boots should also be washed down if they are exposed to dry chem extinguishers as dry chem is extremely corrosive and shortens the life of the rubber boot and even the leather ones. Also, tide has phosphates and nitrates in it (as do most detergents as well as some sort of bleach) which is not particularly good for bunker canvas.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on March 15, 2008 at 8:18pm

Another reason for washing gear (especially the liners) is this: sweat.

If I don't wash my gear after every other "sweat job" my gear starts to smell like old gym clothes. Not particularly appetizing after a few minutes of wearing it in hot weather. Gloves and boots should also be cleaned regularly, inside and out.

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on March 19, 2008 at 2:40pm

The sweat is a good point- didn't think about that!

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Permalink Reply by lutan1 on March 19, 2008 at 2:40pm

Ours were only ever washed at the station (We didn't feel it was fair or right to send them home) and often used a colour safe bleach if there was a chance of BBP contamination.

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Permalink Reply by Capt 723 on March 19, 2008 at 2:58pm

I have found it interesting thus far that no one sends them anywhere to get cleaned. Most of the mfg. would lead you to believe that this was a more common practice that what it appears.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on March 19, 2008 at 3:34pm

We also have an extractor(commercial washer) and use a commercial grade cleaner (soap) made for turn-out gear.....and the gear gets washed after every fire....we do have a rack that is supported from the ceiling and lowered by a winch that we use to air dry them after we wash them.......Paul

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Permalink Reply by Don Zimmerman on March 26, 2008 at 1:13am

All turnouts get cleaned at least once per year no matter what by a contractor company. IF a BBP is involved they are taken OOS and sent to the certified cleaning agency (company) to have them cleaned and back in service in 24 hours.. The FF is issued from our small group of reserve stock so they can finish the shift. The BBP ones go in first thing the next am.

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on March 26, 2008 at 7:44am

My department uses a commercial extractor and the same cleaning and disinfectant solutions used by the commercial gear cleaners. We follow NFPA 1851 on cleaning and inspecting. The shells and liners are washed separately and then air dried, (no heat).

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