How To Properly Maintain&Store Polyester Sling

When you don’t use sling protection, or properly maintain your polyester slings, you increase the chances of a dropped load, damaged property, injury, or worse. 

Keep reading for tips on how to protect your slings while in use and how to maintain your slings in-between lifts.

Avoid Exposing Slings to Extreme Temperatures

Synthetic materials require the most amount of sling protection. Nylon and polyester slings can actually melt, burn, or char when exposed to high heat. Slings made from synthetic materials like nylon or polyester are more susceptible to heat and can be damaged easily by weld splatter, sparks, or by coming into contact with something hot like a machine in operation, a boiler, or furnace.

Heat damage to a sling can occur on a single lift, so it’s important that your operators and riggers are properly trained in sling protection and how to identify damage or irregularities that require a sling to be removed from service.

Be Aware of Chemical Exposure and Chemically Active Environments

Nylon, polyester, and other synthetic fiber materials are especially susceptible to chemical damage. However, nylon and polyester each have their own unique resistance to certain chemicals, so special consideration should be given to the type of synthetic sling you use in a chemically-active environment.

Avoid Prolonged Exposure to Sunlight and UV Light

The synthetic materials used in web slings, roundslings, and rope slings can be significantly degraded by long-term exposure to sunlight and ultraviolet light.

One indication that a web sling or a roundsling has experienced UV degradation is a change in appearance. A bright yellow web sling may become faded or almost white in color over time. A bright colored roundsling will also become faded and may become whitish or dull in appearance.

When performing regular inspections of your synthetic slings, look for faded areas and use your hands to feel for areas that have become stiff and/or brittle—this could be an indication of ultraviolet light damage.

When not in use, best practices for sling protection include keeping synthetic slings slings stored in a location that does not receive direct exposure to sunlight—including away from areas where sunlight may come in through a window or door.

Avoid Edges and Rough Surfaces – Use Edge and Cut Protection

Edges, corners, or rough surfaces can do so much damage to a sling—it doesn’t matter if that sling is made from steel, nylon, or polyester. Without proper edge or cut protection, a sling supporting a load that has edges or rough surfaces can experience any of the following:

Synthetic Slings

• Holes or punctures

• Tears

• Cuts

• Snags

• Excessive wear or abrasion

• Broken stitching

  
  

How to Organize and Store Your Slings

• Keep your slings off of the ground and store them in a cool, dry, and dark environment

• Avoid continued exposure to extreme hot or cold temperatures and store them away from direct sunlight and UV exposure to prevent loss of strength

• Keep your slings clean. Continual exposure to dust, dirt, and moisture can degrade the materials over time and shorten the life expectancy of the product

• Do not store your slings in a chemically active environment. Chemically active environments can affect the strength of the sling material in varying degrees, ranging from little to total degradation.

• Be aware of environmental temperatures and select slings and rigging with appropriate temperature resistance

• Use edge protection or barriers to prevent cutting, abrasion, wear, or broken wires when lifting materials with edges

• Always contact the manufacturer with any questions or concerns about maintaining, storing, and protecting your slings