Excerpts from

https://www.theduchy.com/safety/#consider-your-own-safety

https://ropestudy.com/courses/101/lessons/rope-selection-care/topic/common-approaches-to-care-storage/

Bondage is never risk-free. The things we do ask kinksters are not “Safe”. We practice RACK risk aware consensual kink for this reason. The following discusses how you can reduce risk & manage risk. In order to manage risk, you need to understand those risks and make choices that are within your own personal risk tolerance. BE RISK AWARE.

Check out a great guide for rope bottoming.

Before you start:

Check the condition of your rope before you use it. Look for frays, dirt, splits etc.
Discuss medical conditions, flexibility, previous injury
Body fluids can accumulate on rope, so wash your rope and/or have a set of rope dedicated for use on a given regular partner.
Food and water – Physical resources enable you to play, so don’t forget them.

Never use slip knots or knots that can tighten on themselves. These are referred to as “collapsing knots”. If rope is able to tighten, it can cut off blood flow and/or cause nerve damage (which can be permanent).
Remember that changing the Bottom’s position after the tie can change muscle tightness. What was an acceptable tightness in one position, may be way too tight if you then move the person into a different position. It is best to have your partner generally in the desired end position as you are tying them.
Do not put a knot in middle of your partner’s spine if you’re going to lay them on their back.
Do not put a knot in your partner’s armpit.

Emergencies – plan for the worst case

Make sure to have something immediately within reach that will allow you to cut the ropes. Medical shears, hook blade, etc., work for this, but unless they are unusually sharp, this can take time.
It is a very good idea to actively practice cutting rope under tension. Sacrifice a piece of rope and test out how it cuts with your chosen cutting tool. Does your tool cut cleanly and quickly? How hard is it to cut? How long does it take? Do you have to “chew” at the ropes with it, or have to make multiple passes? If you get anything other than a smooth, clean controlled cut, choose another tool.

In an emergency, don’t hesitate – your Bottom’s safety is more important than your rope.
Using shorter ropes gives you more options in emergencies.
What medical issues might be relevant to the scene? Flexibility? Previous injury? Medications? Dizziness?
What level of sexual activity are you each looking for?
How does the Bottom feel about rope marks, and their location (do they need to be able to cover them for work and home life?)
Are you looking for a very personal interaction, or a distant one?
How does the Bottom prefer to be untied – should you emphasize sensuality or speed?
What level of aftercare is sought? For how long?

Leave your ego at the door

Do not attempt anything complex you are not well-trained in.
You can go from 0 to intermediate in knowledge in one weekend, but you still need practice to internalize that knowledge, develop muscle memory, to make it second nature to become competent.
Master the basics and then get personal training from an experienced person before you try advanced bondage techniques and suspensions, etc.

Regularly test for restricted blood flow or nerve pinches:

Check your partner’s skin temperature before and during the scene. Know what is normal for your partner so you can tell what is not normal
Have the bottom squeeze two of your fingers together before the scene and periodically throughout to monitor the strength of their grip. If their strength weakens noticeably, you need to get them untied.
If you tie the wrists and ankles last, you can adjust more easily. These areas are most prone to having issues, and prolonged compression can cause nerve damage or numbness. But if you do this, keep in mind my tip about rope tightness changing if you change your partner’s position. Have them assume the correct position while being tied, even if you do tie the wrists last.

Certain nerves and blood vessels need special consideration in bondage:

Radial nerve – on the outside of the arm in the valley between the triceps and the deltoid

No rope in or just below this valley.
If you place a rope anywhere in this vicinity and your partner tells you their hand went numb–particularly if it went numb quickly–move that rope now, do not wait.

Brachial plexus – Across the front of the shoulder joint and in the armpit

No knots, bulges or joins in the armpit.
Take care with rope or knots on the front of the shoulder. Some people are sensitive to pressure there. If they report weirdness, and you something pressing on the front of the shoulder, try moving it.
For some, the Brachial Plexus can be impacted by nothing more than holding the arm behind the back. A good test to run with a new partner if you are planning to tie their arms behind their back is to have them hold their arms in a box position behind their back (like the position they would be in if they were in a Gote Shibari or TK tie) and just have them hold in that position for 10 minutes or so. If they can do so without discomfort, without numbing of the fingers or cooling of the hands, then they can probably handle a behind-the-back tie for a while without issue. But you still need to keep open communication and do your check through any tie like this. Depending on where you have placed the ropes or the nodes, you may still impact nerves or blood vessels.

Again, this is nerve impingement; if your partner tells you their hands have become numb, you need to relieve this quickly. Try moving your ropes to a slightly different position or repositioning knots or junctions. If the “weirdness” doesn’t go away in 10-15 seconds, untie them and reset.

Wrists To avoid neuropathy, don’t pinch the nerves in the wrist.

There are also a lot of blood vessels in the interior of the wrist; you don’t want to have knots or too much pressure on the inside of the wrists. Always make sure you can slip one or two fingers under the strands.

Femoral artery – about 4 inches below the groin

Do not restrict the flow of blood to the legs.
Always make sure you can slip two fingers under the strands, wrapped around the thighs.

All nerves and veins in the neck

Turns out brains need blood and have a lot to do with nerves.
The general rule for people new to the scene is: Never put rope across the front of the neck.

Storage

In general, the longer you plan to store your rope, the less stress and folds you should have in your rope. This is particularly true of natural fibre rope, as it will retain the folds and kinks from how it was stored, making the rope more difficult to work with later. In particular, we recommend never storing natural fibre rope using the “daisy chain” method!

We differentiate the way we store rope based on how long the rope will be there and how it will be used:

Long-term storage: when the rope will be somewhere for longer than a few days; we recommend hanging it over something with a relatively thick diameter (large padded carabiner, pole, bamboo, etc.) or keeping it in a large, loose coil
Short-term transport: when your rope is in a bag for travel or to/from a play space; we recommend loose rope hanks, like folded bundle options
Ready for play: when you’re getting your rope ready for use in an actual practice, play, or performance interaction; some people use the folded bundle approach, others prefer the tighter wrapping options

We also recommend that you store your ropes in a cool, dry, open location away from sunlight when possible. Rope likes to “breathe,” may be susceptible to mildew and/or dry rot, and most kinds of rope are susceptible to damage by UV rays (though nylon and polyester are not).

Keep your rope as dry as possible. Not only does this lengthen the life of the rope, but it also helps to kill any contaminants on the rope. Consider using a desiccant in your rope bag.

Inspecting & Replacing Rope

You should regularly inspect your rope for any damage or excessive wear. Depending on the type of rope, you may also need to regularly “reset” and recondition them (particularly for hemp and jute).

Twisted rope (as opposed to braided rope) can be reset by running the tension in the rope back and forth through the rope a few times to make sure all strands are evenly balanced. To do this, start at one of the rope, grip it tightly, and run the rope through your hands all the way to the other end. Repeat at the other end going in the opposite direction. (Using gloves or a cloth can help save your hands some wear.) See this video by M0co for a demonstration.

You may also want to regularly recondition your natural fiber rope (particularly jute) to keep it performing well. This could include removing fuzz, oiling, or waxing the rope. See “Conditioning Rope” below for more details.

General Care

Avoid bending your rope across sharp edges (anything with a 90 degree bend, like a metal bed frame, for example).
Avoid any jagged or rough edges.
Avoid getting the rope dirty or stepping on the rope. Dirt works into the fibers, and the sharp crystals in dirt can cut the fibers and weaken the rope.
Avoid getting natural-fiber rope wet or soiled (particularly for jute rope). Natural fiber ropes are made of dry plants, and moisture will degrade the fibers and weaken the rope.
If your rope does get wet, it should be dried under tension (natural fiber rope) or laid in very loose coils on a clean surface (most synthetics)–and definitely not in an electric dryer. Heat will degrade natural-fiber rope (much like baking plants makes them softer), and may cause the core and sheath of some synthetic ropes to shrink at different rates, causing the rope to become unstable.
Inspect your rope often. Look for any high-stranding, nicks, kinks, abrasions, or softened areas.
Depending on the amount of damage, you can either repair the rope (this is mostly in the case of high-stranding), replace the rope completely, cut the rope into smaller pieces free of problem areas, or mark it in a way that designates it for only certain types of use (i.e., floor work).

Cleaning Rope

In general, the best practice is to avoid getting your rope dirty. Natural fiber rope, in particular, is porous and not easily cleaned.
We also recommend partner-specific rope if there are any concerns about transmission of infection. (For example, if you use crotch rope on a partner, keep that rope for dedicated use with only that partner.)
For concerns about pathogens and STDs, using an anti-bacterial wipe (or 70% alcohol solution wipe) on your rope will generally kill all harmful pathogens.
Hanging your rope in direct sunlight for a period of time (1-2 days max) can kill viruses and bacteria to disinfect the rope. But note that UV rays also harm the rope over time, so keep the exposure limited. (Polyester and MFP in particular are more UV resistant, so this method may be best for them.)
Most synthetic ropes can be washed, but we recommend doing so by hand with a very mild detergent. Some synthetics can be washed in a machine, but be careful with knotting or abrasion by the agitator. 1
If you must get natural-fibre rope wet in order to clean it, use cool water and a mild detergent, then air dry the rope under mild tension (see above for more notes on drying).