How To Clean A Bike With Household Products
Cleaning Bike W/ Basic Household Products
03-30-08, 04:51 PM
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Cleaning Bike W/ Basic Household Products
Do any of you use everyday household products to clean your bike (besides water)? Could you all create a poor (wo)man's guide to bike maintenance for me? If it hasn't been done before...
03-30-08, 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted by madprofessor100 
Do any of you use everyday household products to clean your bike (besides water)? Could you all create a poor (wo)man's guide to bike maintenance for me? If it hasn't been done before...
I use Simple Green or citrus cleaners to degrease the drive train (cassette, chain, chainring).
03-30-08, 05:02 PM
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Wet wipes from the dollah store.
03-30-08, 05:04 PM
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Windex works well for cleaning everything but the drivetrain.
Furniture polish works well as a frame polish(We used Pledge in the shop before there were "bike" polishes).
You can use dish detergent for degreasing,woeks best when applied stright and scrubbed in, then add water and scrub some more, then rinse.
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03-30-08, 05:08 PM
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Car wax on the frame and on bright polished alloy parts for a longer term protection. Pledge makes things shiney but it won't last long under the strain of rain in the commutes. I've found a good car wax to last about a year or so despite washings before the paint looses it's shine again.
03-30-08, 05:27 PM
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Bucket of water and car wash soap for everything but drivetrain. Paint brush works well to get those hard to reach spots. WD-40 sprayed on a rag works well for the chain gunk. People that say don't use water are silly, a low pressure spray off won't hurt anything.
03-30-08, 05:30 PM
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Originally Posted by BCRider
before the paint looses it's shine again.
loose (ls)
1. Not fastened, restrained, or contained: loose bricks.
lose (lz)
1. To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay: He's always losing his car keys.
03-30-08, 06:00 PM
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Furniture polish also cleans the bike and aonly takes about a minute to apply.
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03-30-08, 06:07 PM
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"Awesome", from the 99 Cent Store.
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03-30-08, 06:28 PM
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Yah I'm one of those "just hose it off" type of guys. Though that's not good for your bottom bracket and hubs, and don't do it if you have a steel bike. These days I just take paper towel with a soapy solution and clean the frame. Then use WD40 to clean the chain and sprockets (remember WD40 doesn't make great chain lube; you need something thicker).
03-30-08, 07:00 PM
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Dawn Ultra from the dollar store cuts the grease nicely.
While you're there, pick up a bucket and a selection of brushes to reach all the nooks and crannies on the bike. As long as you don't use a nasty chain lube (like motor oil or motorcycle chain lube) you shouldn't need WD-40 to clean the drivetrain. Citrus cleaners will cut the heavier gunk. Rinse it off with another bucket of clean water and don't use water pressure to get off dirt that the brush can handle.
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03-30-08, 08:06 PM
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Citrus degreaser, Simple Green, for chain/greasy things.
Pledge furniture polish for shiny things.
Leather cleaner for saddle if leather.
For a complete bike, I'd get two 5-gal buckets, Simple Green, a car wash solution ("waxes while washes" is kinda appealing to me), a car wash mitt, a gear brush (Park or Pedros), and pick your most unloved waterbottle. Then do this:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...your-bike.html
If you're on a serious training schedule, do it on a day off or an easy day. This way you don't use precious training energy cleaning your bike.
hope this helps,
cdr
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How To Clean A Bike With Household Products
Source: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/402652-cleaning-bike-w-basic-household-products.html
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