Do you wash/clean your foil kites after using on the water?

[fun2kite]

Hi all,

I have been flying tube kites for 12 years. I almost never washed my tube kites. when they fall in salt water, just let them dry.

Foil kites seem much more delicate than tube material. Also they are much more expensive.
So what is the proper taking care of the kite procedure to make sure they last longer?

Is it recommended to wash them? If so, soap, no soap? (I think there is some coating on the kite that needs to be protected?)
Does salt have affect on bridles etc?

My kite already have a couple of very small stains, will it actually make it worse if I attempt to clean it? what cleaning solution to use?

I also had a swim or two with a new foil kite. so water did get inside. Do I need to do anything about the inside of the kite later after it dried up?

thank you in advance.

-D.

[Johhnn]

I do not wash or clean my kites. If they get wet, I hang them up to dry and shake the sand off them. I have one kite that has solid use for 3 seasons. It's been in the water plenty of times. No problems. If you're in fresh water, mildew would be a problem, but the salt acts as a kind of preservative against that type of thing.

[Mossy 757]

Disclaimer: I don't own foil kites yet and don't wash my inflatables.

If you did want to fresh water wash something like a kite, you could buy 2 giant Rubbermaid tubs and a Reverse Osmosis water filter that attaches to your hose bib. RO water has no dissolved minerals in it, so anything on your kite should dissolve into it easily. I'd soak for 10 minutes in one tub, transfer to the other as a rinse, then hang dry. This is what I do with wetsuits at the end of the season before I store them

[jakemoore]

If the air is very humid, washing the salt off can reduce sand sticking to the kite and the flying weight of a ripstop nylon kite (most foils ex Lotus).

I would only do this every several sessions, after the kite start sticking a lot of sand. Must dry completely on a calm wind day in the shade to prevent flogging, mildew and UV damage.

This is less of a problem with the ripstop polyester used in tube kites.

[foilonfoil]

I wash my kites if they end up wet on the beach and covered in sand. More to get the sand off but the salt water can leave salt stains. After washing the kite I hang up in the garage and the kite is dry by the morning so no UV damage for drying.

[foilholio]

If you leave a kite wet with fresh water it will get moldy .

[Rufusz]

90% of the time I ride on fresh water and I never wash my foilkites. I did a water repellent treatment on my old foilkite after 4 years of use, that's all the maintenance the material needs if you really want to take care of it.
I always hang them out at home if wet to avoid mold building up.

[Mossy 757]

90% of the time I ride on fresh water and I never wash my foilkites. I did a water repellent treatment on my old foilkite after 4 years of use, that's all the maintenance the material needs if you really want to take care of it.
I always hang them out at home if wet to avoid mold building up.

What product did you use. Is there a recommendation for the material they use on the Sonic?

[foilonfoil]

If you leave a kite wet with fresh water it will get moldy .

Depends on where you live. Average temp around here is 24C/76% Humidity. Garage is a little warmer so no mold. Kite is dry in the morning.

[Rufusz]

90% of the time I ride on fresh water and I never wash my foilkites. I did a water repellent treatment on my old foilkite after 4 years of use, that's all the maintenance the material needs if you really want to take care of it.
I always hang them out at home if wet to avoid mold building up.

What product did you use. Is there a recommendation for the material they use on the Sonic?

1 part roofing silicone 6 part natural turpentine applied with airbrush. It will attract sand if you got the got the rates wrong otherwise it makes canopy feel and look a lot younger

I would definitely avoid using it on a relatively new or expensive kite as its not that easy to create an even layer on the canopy.

Factory DWR should be OK for a few years so as long as the kite repels some water I wouldn't bother with anything DIY.
Ultramar makes a product called kite refit for this purpose at ridiculous price.