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Does anyone have a recipe for a homemade bicycle degreaser solution? I'd like to make my own degreaser solution instead of buying one. I have read about using lemon juice and various types of alcohols - white spirits, etc. EDIT: I should have actually explained I was looking for a homemade bicycle degreaser liquid, not just cleaning liquid. I have now edited the title and wording. Sorry for the wrong title. |
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If what you're looking for is a cheap alternative, here in my country is very common to use diesel or kerosene to clean bike parts. Personally I use diesel, I just pour a small amount in an old plastic cup, and use a brush (the kind normally used for painting) to rub it all over derailleurs, cogsets, bearings, etc. It is plenty effective for removing even heavy grease. It is smelly and leaves an oily residue that can be easily removed with dish soap. (I prefer the liquid one). I Like to use it because it is effective, and the "residue" seems to be protective against corrosion for a few days. You can use rubber gloves, since diesel won't melt them, but if carefully used barehands, it won't cause much trouble as long as you wash your hands right after the job, which you can do with plain water and hand soap. On a side note: Liquid dish soap is an amazing grease remover, but it needs scrubbing, so it does not make the job as easy as diesel. It is extremely useful for the rubber parts of the bike, leaves tyres looking really good, and does wonders with the grips: somehow they end up shiny but not slippery, and it's really easy on the paint job, try it! Diesel has the advantage of being not so flammable as gasoline or kerosene. You can't light up liquid diesel with a spark or a match, but with kerosene or gasoline it's easy, thus my choice for diesel. Another reason to prefer diesel over gasoline or paint solvents, is that it won't damage plastic or rubber parts, as gasoline would do. Some paint solvents may cause long term discoloration of paint (d'uh!) or plastic parts if used frequently. I haven't had these situations with diesel. Kerosene is more flammable, less viscous and less smelly, but I have never used it for cleaning. Many years ago, I used to clean with gasoline, but the smell is unbearable after a few minutes, it damages plastic, rubber and paint. It melts some kinds of rubber gloves and causes immediate damage to the skin. For some specific jobs it can be useful though, since it evaporates rather quickly, leaving no residue. Bottom line: As with all flammable /volatile liquids, they should be used with caution, in open, ventilated environments, and should be stored carefully, properly labeled and out of reach of unsuitable users (children, elderly, etc...). |
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I use the colourless, odorless liquid that comes out of taps and sometimes (often, where I am) falls from the sky... Beyond simply using a damp cloth, when I'm doing maintenance, I'll wipe off any grease or oil using WD-40 or Liquid Wrench or Brake Clean (whatever I have on hand for cleaning bolts). We don't have that brand of dish soap here, but I wouldn't hesitate to use something like that on a bike. For people who are worried about harsh soaps, there's Palmolive, which is well-known for being very gentle. |
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A degreaser needs to contain either a solvent or an emulsifier or both. Deionized water (not tap water) combined with citric acid works pretty well as an emulsifier for slightly greasy stuff (it's used for cleaning electronic components), but by itself is probably no match for, say, a greasy derailer. There are other emulsifiers that are a bit stronger (including plain soap/detergent). Petroleum solvents, of course, are pretty good at cutting petroleum-based grease, but pure petroleum solvents are environmentally unfriendly and don't do much for removing general grime. Alcohol is not a particularly good solvent for petroleum products and hence not a very good degreaser. I suspect a lot of modern commercial degreasers now contain an emulsifier plus a "dash" of solvent. |
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For those of you who still may be looking for a cheap degreaser, search for Virosol. This is the strongest degreaser I've seen. You'd normally buy it from sites selling industrial cleaning chemicals. It's eco-friendly and leaves your bike spotless. It was less than £10 for 5L delivered (UK). It's concentrated so for general cleaning I dilute it 1:10, for chain etc 1:2. Basically, 5L will last you for ages. Be careful though, couple of drops can leave ball bearings in the hub clean as well. Hope this helps someone. |
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I've used sugar (yes, the stuff put in coffee or on cereal) and liquid dish soap as a very effective home-made degreaser for my hands after working on bike or truck but haven't thought to try it on the parts themselves. For the metal bits I usually use WD-40 or Powerblaster and a scrub or toothbrush. I buy the "WD" in 1 gallon containers (liquid form, not "aerosol") and use a plastic 5 gallon pail as a parts washer. After the project is done, I'll pour off the "used" liquid into a smaller container (filtering as necessary) and reuse it for future degreasing projects. Brake Parts cleaner, as suggested above also works, but it's more toxic and I generally reserve it for things that truly need to be clean, perhaps in preparation for painting, not parts that are going to be re-greased after cleaning. I'd put diesel in the same general category. Very effective, but not as pleasant, or "safe", to work with. |
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The best degreaser is simply a rag. Disassemble the parts, rub them briskly with a rag, re-grease/re-oil and re-assemble. YMMV depending on how far you let things go before servicing. |
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