i just cleaned it by putting it in some hot water in a plastic container,then i added dish soap and a good amount of bleach and mixed it around for about 10 min.all the crud floated to the top and the bore snake was clean as ive ever seen it.the crud stuck to the side of the plastic container when i drained it,i had to wipe the hole container down,i that would have gone in the wash my clothes would have a nice coat of sticky hard to remove crap.washing machine not recommended