Clean holds are the cheapest upgrade a climbing wall can get. A set that feels greasy and dead comes back to life with the chalk gone, and the climbers notice before the setters do. Here's how to clean climbing holds properly, both on the wall between resets and off the wall when they come down.
Why holds get greasy in the first place
Three things build up on a climbing hold. Loose chalk, which is easy. Compacted chalk, ground into the texture by hundreds of hands and sweat, which is harder. And skin oil, which is what actually turns a hold slick, and which chalk only hides. A quick swipe takes the first. The second and third need a real clean, which is why a hold brushed every day can still feel polished after six weeks on the wall.
Cleaning holds on the wall: between resets
This is the daily and weekly work. Brush with a boar-hair or nylon brush in short, flat strokes until the shine goes. Don't scrub harder than you need to, especially on textured or soft holds. Then clear what you loosened. This is where a normal brush falls down: it lifts the chalk and drops most of it straight back, or into the air. ChalkBlaster was built for exactly this step. The jet fan blows the loosened chalk off the hold while the bristles work, and on humid days it dries the surface too. For anything above head height, mount it on the extension pole and clean the top-outs from the ground. A brush head on a painter's pole does the same job more slowly.
Indoors, keep the speed low and angle the airflow up and toward the return vents so the chalk goes to the filter, not to the next climber's face. Our gym air guide covers that side.
Brush in short flat strokes
Blow the loosened chalk off (ChalkBlaster)
Extension pole for top-outs
Removes loose and most compacted chalk
Soak in warm water with mild detergent
Scrub with a soft brush, rinse
Dry fully before bolting back on
Removes skin oil and deep chalk
Cleaning holds off the wall: at the reset
When a set comes down, that's the moment to get the skin oil out. Most gyms use a large tub or a purpose-built hold washer. Warm water with a mild detergent or a citrus-based degreaser, a soak long enough to loosen the grease, then a scrub with a soft-bristle brush, paying attention to the texture and the bolt holes. Rinse well so no soap film is left, because a soapy hold is a slippery hold. Then dry completely. Bolting a damp hold back to the wall traps water against the panel and the hold.
What to avoid: harsh solvents and strong bleach, which can attack the polyurethane or polyester the holds are made of and fade the colour, and very high-pressure washing aimed at fine texture, which can strip it. If you're unsure what a hold can take, ask the manufacturer, and test on one hold before you do the set.
Outdoor rock is different
None of the washing advice applies to rock. Outdoors, cleaning means brushing only, with boar hair, light pressure, and no water, no soap and no wire brushes. Remove your tick marks when you leave. If the rock is soft sandstone, brush less than you think you should. The crag etiquette post has the full set of rules.
What this means for your wall
Build the on-wall clean into the routine: a quick brush and blow of the popular problems a few times a week, the full wall before a comp or a big weekend. Build the off-wall clean into every reset. Climbers feel the difference the same day, and a hold that's cleaned properly lasts more sets before it goes dull. ChalkBlaster plus the extension pole turns the on-wall part from a ladder job into a ten-minute walk along the base of the wall.
Kent: "The holds everyone complains about are the top-outs, and they're the ones nobody cleans because nobody can reach them. Put the brush on a pole and the complaints stop."
Quick answers
How often should climbing holds be cleaned?
Brush and blow popular holds on the wall a few times a week. Wash every hold off the wall at each reset to remove skin oil.
Can you pressure wash climbing holds?
Many gyms do, at moderate pressure. Keep the nozzle off fine texture and test on one hold first. A soak and a soft brush is gentler and works for most sets.
What soap is safe for climbing holds?
Mild detergent or a citrus-based degreaser in warm water. Avoid strong solvents and bleach, and rinse thoroughly so no film is left.
How do you clean holds you can't reach?
Mount a brush head, or the ChalkBlaster, on an extension pole and clean from the ground. The angle-adjustable head keeps the bristles flat on the hold at height.
ChalkBlaster on the extension pole: brush, blow and dry the top-outs without a ladder.
See the extension poleSWEEP Climbing builds tools for climbers who take friction seriously.
