• How do I get bike grease out of my clothing?

    Answers Given

    Answers Favorited

  • All my pants seem to inevitably get stained with bike grease. What's the best method for getting rid of grease stains from pants? Is there a product that works particularly well?

    10 0
    Question by Oliver Hulland
    09/06/2011

I use ProLink bike lube not only to lube my chain, but to clean bike grease off my hands and out of my clothes. Use clean cloth as a blotter. If it doesn't get it all out, I follow up with a spritz of WD-40, then a wash.

Answer by cmj
09/06/2011

Grease is just a long and complex hydrocarbon chain, so the best way to remove it is with a short or light hydrocarbon solution which would dissolve the grease and then could be flushed away. You could DIY it with a little gasoline, naphtha (white gas), vodka (ethanol), or something similar.

Alternatively if you have a larger stain or want some professional cleaning services you could have it dry cleaned. But make sure it is not a cleaner that uses the new "green" dry cleaning fluid as it is not a solvent and will not dissolve the grease.

Answer by doran
09/11/2011

Goo Gone. I've used it on dress shirts and all kinds of pants. So far, no bleaching/discoloring and no vestiges of the grease stain.

Answer by lhadnus
09/11/2011

Fels-Naptha. (http://www.felsnaptha.com/) Old school soap. I had a pair of khakis that I got old chain grease on, washed them regularly about 3-4 times. Regular wash didn't get the stain out, so I called it a bust. Then 3 months later I use a little elbow grease and fels naptha, just rubbing the fabric against itself for 5 minutes, and sure enough, came right out. The soap is good for plenty more as well.

Answer by tanner
09/11/2011

The white lard-like goop that auto supply stores sell in tubs as hand cleaner. It gets out every grease stain known to man.

As an added bonus for cyclists, if you slop it all over your black filthy bike chain the grease will dissolve and you can wash it off with a garden hose.

Answer by rosie redfield
09/11/2011

I've always used Fuller Pre-Laundry Stain Spray to remove any grease related stains from clothing. This stuff excels at black grease type stains, and will magically remove most stains that you run across. It was originally recommended to me by relatives that live on a farm, and always have stains like these to get rid of. They bulk order this stuff by the box.

Answer by iceberg
09/11/2011

Try OxyClean

For the future you may want to check out the Leg Shield. It is a neoprene leg strap that prevents the bike grease from getting on your pants. I use it for commuting. Great solution.

See it here. http://www.amazon.com/Leg-Shield-Revolutionary-Bicycle-Strap/dp/B006J0PHAI/ref=sr_1_20?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1324073135&sr=1-20

Answer by harry
12/16/2011

Dead easy: Brake cleaner. Comes in a spray can from Pep Boys for $3-4. One can will degrease half a dozen shirts or pants. Spray it through the cloth until the grease stain visibly disappears. Let the item dry--mostly--and throw into the laundry. The pants will have a horrendous-looking watermark but that washes out (only if fresh--thus the "mostly" dry comment. The odor washes out, too).

This method will amaze your friends and horrify your spouse--but it works. I have used it for everything from crayon to creosote, on both natural and synthetic fibers--including white fabric (careful with synthetics! Try first on something that won't show. If it dissolves your rayon dancing shirt--you were warned)

Dave

Answer by dave367
01/06/2012

We found on the net to use rubbing alcohol (not sure e if it is the same as vodka, but way cheaper) and it works really well.

Answer by a happy user
08/13/2012

Bagger bike We are not used to blogs and in reality liked your blog. I'll search for your web blog and keep viewing you. I absolutely should give you thanks with regards to writing your web web site. http://www.baggerbags.com/

Answer by sophiya
01/31/2014
« Back to Previous Page
Cool tools really work.

A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.

Tell us what you love.