Re: Cleaning Poison Ivy Urushiol off Gear

Alicia - I can't recall ever getting PI from a secondary contact source (hiking stick, backpack, article of clothing), but if you're really concerned get a bar of fels-naptha soap (it's an old fashioned wood ash lye soap) - it'll take the oils right off the articles with a bit of scrubbing (it'll also leave your hands rough and red so you may want to wear rubber gloves while scrubbing).

I have no idea what that soap may do to gore-tex or other performance fabrics, by the way, so you may want to do a big of research before diving in.

If you use a laundromat to wash your stuff, just do the next person a favor - run a load through with nothing but detergent and bleach (goodly amount) - which should rid the machine of any residual PI oils.

Best of luck