Hang Gliding - Articles - Wash your parachute after each pyrotechnic ballistic deployment.
By Betty Pfeiffer

It has been brought to my attention that a by-product of the ignition of pyrotechnic ballistic devices that use ammonium perchlorate is hydrogen chloride gas, which will naturally combine with water to form hydrochloric acid. As the apex of the ballistically deployed parachute is pulled through the vapor trail during a pyrotechnic rocket deployment, it is exposed to a slight acid contamination. Washing the parachute before repacking can eliminate effects of this contamination.

Washing is NOT GOOD for the parachute so only wash affected areas. Have a rigger preform the appropriate Bromocresol Green test to determine how much parachute should be washed.

At first thought this slight contamination may seem insignificant, however, the effects of slightly acid treated mesh used next to nylon parachute material has been a major topic of concern in the sky diving industry. There have been several incidents involving degraded fabric in sky diving emergency reserves It is my hope that we can eliminate any possible canopy blow ups by simply washing the affected area of the parachute after every pyrotechnic ballistic deployment.