Chain Degreaser

Got a chain cleaning kit for my secret santa, with a 50 ml bottle of chain degreaser.

Any one just use washing up liquid? or do you have your own mix?

Or should I just buy some Muc Off?

 

What do you mean use washing up liquid? For the bike frame or the chain?

Do a search for chain degreasers and you will find about 1000000 threads. Careful, it is a subject that gets people almost as excited as the Campagnolo vs. that Japanese Stuff debate!

 

i dont know you are going to save that much. i buy degreaser 3lt at a time for less than $10 and simply tip it into a trigger pump spray pack. 3lt lasts me a seriously long time. with a bulk pack like that as well i can tip it into a container and toss cassettes and chains in there without having to spray on the bike.

--brett

 

The bicycle specific products are usually just normal products sold in smaller quantities with the price radically increased. There are any number of things you can use to clean your chain. Kerosene, mineral spirits, Simple Green, etc. The citrus stuff should be washed off after it is appled because in high concentrations it can cause corrosion, especially on aluminum; whether that matters for consummables like chains that are periodically replaced is a little questionable.

 

I would use something safe for the environment. Like Shaklee's Basic H cleaner.

 

i like the spray can degreaser personally cause you just spray and it drips off with ease. problem solved!

 

Fixed.

 

You sound like my editor! (I'm safe, he doesn't read Cycling Forums)

 

What's a safe way to get rid of it? I have heard that in very small amounts oils and greases may safely decompose if tossed in the yard or flushed into a septic tank.

 

Hazard Summary-Created in April 1992; Revised in January 2000
Tetrachloroethylene is widely used for dry-cleaning fabrics and metal degreasing operations.* The main effects of tetrachloroethylene in humans are neurological, liver, and kidney effects following acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) inhalation exposure.* Adverse reproductive effects, such as spontaneous abortions, have been reported from occupational exposure to tetrachloroethylene; however, no definite conclusions can be made because of the limitations of the studies.* Results from epidemiological studies of dry-cleaners occupationally exposed to tetrachloroethylene suggest increased risks for several types of cancer.* Animal studies have reported an increased incidence of liver cancer in mice, via inhalation and gavage (experimentally placing the chemical in the stomach), and kidney and mononuclear cell leukemia in rats.* In the mid-1980s, EPA considered the epidemiological and animal evidence on tetrachloroethylene as intermediate between a probable and possible human carcinogen (Group B/C).* The Agency is currently reassessing its potential carcinogenicity.

http://www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/hlthef/tet-ethy.html
Send me a pm if you would like to learn more about Skaklee's environmental friendly Basic H

 

I use an orange oil-based degreaser and it works fine. I am interested in how to get rid of the oily residue; i.e. the lube itself, the stuff you are attempting to remove.

 

"i like the spray can degreaser personally cause you just spray and it gets all over the frame, the wheels, the tires, the floor...
"

Depends how you go around it. Floor yes (but I do it outside... I dont care if it gets on the floor).

If you tip the bike on its side before you degrease it you aint gonna get it all over your tyres. Point noted through, shouldn't do it when the bike is sitting up.

No big deal if it got on the frame... just get rid of the oil that got chucked about? lol.

 

so is washing up liquid ok???

 

I've used it without problems, I would imagine so. But best to be sure first, im not 100% sure.