Non-Toxic way to clean the grease/grime off my chain/rear wheel | GTAMotorcycle.com

Non-Toxic way to clean the grease/grime off my chain/rear wheel

shanekingsley

Curry - so nice it burns you twice
Site Supporter
So it's about time I cleaned my bike - first time in 65,000km.

There is a pretty significant buildup of grease and grime around the rear rim, chain guard and more. On previous bikes and many years ago, I used to use kerosene to get my white rims all nice and clean, but now knowing that it is not the best thing to go down into the sewers, I'd like to use something less toxic. Same goes for engine de-greasers.

I would be doing this on my driveway, so I don't want something that will also stain or eat away at my asphalt.

I would like to use something that would be safe to run down my driveway and into the sewer system? Dishwashing liquid? Rubbing alcohol for the grease?
 
Simple Green? I've used it in the past. With a little elbow grease it works well. Keep an eye on your tires afterwards, b/c the product is a bit slippery on rubber.
Also, with that much build-up, I would be removing the chain guard and the front sprocket cover and scraping off the thick gunk before trying to apply any type of cleaner/degreaser.
Clean a little, often, also helps.
 
Simple green, but it's not good for asphalt. Spray on, let it work, then hose off on road. Then, use dishwashing soap.
 
Vegetable oil, corn oil, peanut oil, etc

Whatever is cheaper
 
Didn't they clean wild life with Dawn dish soap after the Exxon Valdez incident?
 
From an effectiveness point of view, I really love the 'SuperClean' degreaser (purple bottle, Can Tire automotive section). I also use it on my truck wheels and tire sidewalls - spray on, brush, rinse-off and have recently found that it works wonders in the kitchen also (stovetop, microwave, stainless-sink).

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/s...n-degreaser-refill-0392965p.html#.VEFQbPWsFmU


I would lump it into the 'toxic' category, but it is advertised and labelled as bio-degradeable and phospate-free. IMHO, phosphates are the biggest issue in driveway run-off into our storm sewers, albeit most newer communities direct storm water runoff into local holding ponds.

Ha ha - are you in Toronto? Isn't it illegal (bylaw) to even wash your vehicle in your driveway no matter what you use? Better get some waterless cleaner.
 
I suspect it doesn't pass the non-toxic test but Canadian tire's Waterless Hand cleaner is a great way to get grease and gunk off wheels, etc. Mind you. since you would be applying it by hand or cloth and wiping it off with a cloth there is no reason any of it would go down the drain system anyway.

..Tom
 
That. Hand cleaner solution from Canadian tire in Orange bottles and hugs. Its cheap and non toxic
 
Yeah, but they did not mention what they did with the soap afterwards.

News footage of the day showed workers cleaning critters right on the beach. I think. Be that as it may, don't most people use dish soap to clean dishes? It all goes down the drain. Is the OP going to do the whole haz mat deal? I think we're trying to keep mineral spirits and the like out of the water treatment loop.
 
Orange stuff has grit. Not good for the finish.
 
I use pine sol...but you could go this way....

[video=youtube_share;qgqlBgXe8Yc]http://youtu.be/qgqlBgXe8Yc[/video]
 
^^ Thanks for the vid - I should totally do that!

Simple Green? I've used it in the past. With a little elbow grease it works well. Keep an eye on your tires afterwards, b/c the product is a bit slippery on rubber.
Also, with that much build-up, I would be removing the chain guard and the front sprocket cover and scraping off the thick gunk before trying to apply any type of cleaner/degreaser.
Clean a little, often, also helps.

Thanks for the suggestion - I bought some and spent two hours that I will never get back. I could have spent more time, but this bike needs a fair bit of gunk to maintain it's place in the world. At least I can finally see that my rims are not brown but black and my rim tape is still on the rear wheel.

OP mentioned not wanting the toxic stuff going into the sewers; Dawn, or any laundry or dishwashing soap, has stuff that shouldn't end up in storm sewers.

There's also this stuff made from soy bean oil: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r3/motorcycle-chain-cleaner/bean-clean/
This product looks exactly like what I want - but is no longer available from their website. I'm going to email them to see if they still make it.

Ha ha - are you in Toronto? Isn't it illegal (bylaw) to even wash your vehicle in your driveway no matter what you use? Better get some waterless cleaner.
I was in Toronto, but moved to Miserysauga last year. Having lived in condo's for the past several years, washing the bike was not allowed in the underground garages, so about once or twice a year I would take it to the coin-op pressure wash places and bury the dirt deep into the recesses of the engine. Now living here, I have a garden hose and driveway.
 
You can spray kerosene onto a rag and then use the rag to wipe your rims to minimize the discharge into the sewers
 

Back
Top Bottom