Hey all, I recently started riding again. First-time poster.
To cut to the chase, I believe I applied a citrus degreaser where it doesn't belong. The brand was Pedro's Oranj Peelz.
I mixed roughly 1 part degreaser to 1 part water and ran my chain through a chain cleaning mechanism. The mistake I made, however, was failing to rinse. I simply took a dry rag and ran the chain through it after degreasing, failing to rinse well with water. Shortly thereafter I applied lubricant.
Ditto for when I was wiping down my bike. I took a water-soaked rag and applied a small amount of degreaser to the rag, wiping down my entire bike. Unfortunately I was unaware that a degreaser could damage rubbers and plastics, and I wiped down my tires, saddle, and hoods. I did give it a rinse, albeit not a thorough one. I took a rag soaked exclusively with water and wiped the bike down after the initial water/degreaser wipe down, and then proceeded to dry.
Obviously the lesson is learned -- rinse throughly after applying any degreaser, and moreover, avoid rubbers and plastics. This is only the second time this has occurred, though. Just how much harm, if any, have I done to my bike? Obviously I could replace hoods, tires, chains, cogs, and handlebar tape without spending a significant amount of money, but I'd rather avoid the hassle. Assuming I properly clean my bike in the future (rinsing and avoiding specific areas) do I have much to be concerned about after my two mini-blunders?
Thanks so much.
To cut to the chase, I believe I applied a citrus degreaser where it doesn't belong. The brand was Pedro's Oranj Peelz.
I mixed roughly 1 part degreaser to 1 part water and ran my chain through a chain cleaning mechanism. The mistake I made, however, was failing to rinse. I simply took a dry rag and ran the chain through it after degreasing, failing to rinse well with water. Shortly thereafter I applied lubricant.
Ditto for when I was wiping down my bike. I took a water-soaked rag and applied a small amount of degreaser to the rag, wiping down my entire bike. Unfortunately I was unaware that a degreaser could damage rubbers and plastics, and I wiped down my tires, saddle, and hoods. I did give it a rinse, albeit not a thorough one. I took a rag soaked exclusively with water and wiped the bike down after the initial water/degreaser wipe down, and then proceeded to dry.
Obviously the lesson is learned -- rinse throughly after applying any degreaser, and moreover, avoid rubbers and plastics. This is only the second time this has occurred, though. Just how much harm, if any, have I done to my bike? Obviously I could replace hoods, tires, chains, cogs, and handlebar tape without spending a significant amount of money, but I'd rather avoid the hassle. Assuming I properly clean my bike in the future (rinsing and avoiding specific areas) do I have much to be concerned about after my two mini-blunders?
Thanks so much.
