How To Wash Greasy Bike Rags???

I use old rags for cleaning my chain on my bike and I'm wondering if/how I should wash them. I could just throw them away and buy those rags that are several in a pack, used in automotive shops and throw them away when soiled. That seems wasteful though. I know you can buy degreaser at hardware stores, but I don't know if it's safe to use in a home washing machine. Of course I would wash the rags alone with nothing else, but I want to make sure the oily residue gets off the rags and not stick in my washer to contaminate my next load.

Looked online and some treat with full strength simple green first, then wash normally with regular laundry detergent.

I'd appreciate any insights. I cleaned the chain for the first time on my new (5 month old) bike tonight and have a pile of dirty rags! Whoohoo.

Soak in Simple Green, and rinse well, then wash in hot water. Dry outside- keep your dryer for the regular clothes.

I gotta say, I am prone to using the laundry mat after hours. I still worry about my own washer and the grease, no matter how well you rinse the Simple Green out.

Some laundromats have a washer dedicated for greasy clothes. It might be worth checking out.

But honestly, I hate the idea of washing all that stuff down the drain. I think it's actually more environmentally responsible to send paper towels to the landfill where at least there's supposed to be an impermeable liner to keep it from getting into the water.

I use rags to wash my frame, they do get greasy, and I confess to using Chicken Little's method on them. But for the drivetrain itself, with that amount of chain lube on it, I use disposable towels.

I use one of these for cleaning my chain and never have to touch the chain with a rag. I add Simple Green and it cleans the chain right up. It's one of the best inventions ever. I use rags to wash the rest of my bike, but they never get so nasty that washing them is a problem since I keep them away from the chain.

I use old t-shirts, etc and then throw them away when I'm done. I don't want to grime up my washer and I figure I'm already doing some recycling this way.

I'm with hillslugger on this one. The BF and I both live in white t-shirts and when they've run their course as t-shirts they live again as bike rags until they start putting grease back on the bike and then into the garbage they go.

Cleaning greasy cloth requires a lot of water and a lot of energy to heat that water, so you have to decide how to allocate resources. A small addition to landfill or water and energy to preserve and reuse the rags.

Around here, rags are in abundant supply, thanks to white t-shirts, pillow cases, bar towels, kitchen towels, and bath towels. Once a bit of cloth has made it down the devolutionary ladder to become a greasy mess, it goes in the trash. If we went camping, I'd probably use them for fire starters.

I would tend to use a rag that I would throw away. Too much effort (water, scrubbing, detergent) to wash such dirty rags, especially bike related grease or any type of heavy grease that is not digestible by humans.

I can't imagine trying to wash such rags with other type of laundry at all. Therefore not worth it.

In our shop used rags get thrown in a metal trash can until the rag cleaning company picks them up and drops off a new batch. They have to be treated as hazardous waste, so I guess the shop pays a significant price to have them washed and the wash water disposed of properly. At home I use paper towels or old T-shirts that I toss out after use.

Thank you all for your thoughtful ideas. We use old socks and such to wipe greasy parts, and use them over and over. I like the idea of using disposable rags vs washing, but just wasn't sure. Definitely want to be gentle with our environment. We have a Park Tool scrubber device that one of you referred to, but I still use a rag to wipe off the drippy parts. Thanks and happy cycling.

<highjack on>for those of you who use the chain cleaning scrubber, how do you dispose of the greasy, degreaser solution?<highjack off>

Well, this is going to sound bad, but I mix it with dishwashing detergent to "thin out" the oily stuff and down the sink. Great question though. I live near a creek so dumping it down the rainwater/street drain that goes directly into the creek is not an option, nor is pouring into the soil. We use simple green to clean the chain. I will be interested in seeing responses to that question.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HillSlugger

<highjack on>for those of you who use the chain cleaning scrubber, how do you dispose of the greasy, degreaser solution?<highjack off>

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I strain out the grit through a disposable shop rag in a funnel and re-use it. I keep the used solvent in an old can. A lot of the small particles will settle out, so I'll wind up with a quite clear solvent, that I can pour off into my chain cleaning machine and then wipe out the sludge from the bottom of the can with another disposable rag. A fair amount still goes where it shouldn't :( when I wash the bike after degreasing the drivetrain, but at least it cuts down on the amount I use.

I used to use old tee shirt cut into strips and throw them away when they become too dirty. Lately I've been using shop towels to wipe down the frame of the bike and chain.

Hillslugger, good question on that chain scrubber. My husband got me one and I haven't used it yet but the problem of what to do with the greasy solution is something to think about.

Oakleaf, sounds like you have a good system going there. But would that work for someone who doesn't do this often? Meaning, would it be practical if I do this every few months?

What about treating the solution like old paint? In this case, put it in a disposable container, let it dry out in the sun and then throw out that container? Doesn't sound very environment friendly.

Now I'm not sure what to do?????????

dt

It won't dry out like old paint, the solvent isn't that volatile. (Technically, you're only supposed to do that with latex paint anyway - oil-based paints, you don't want the VOCs getting into the atmosphere any more than necessary, so you just take the whole thing to your local hazmat collection.)

The solvent stays fine over the winter when I'm not riding (or cleaning) often. Maybe it gets a little bit gummier than it comes out of the bottle fresh, but not enough that I notice a difference in cleaning power. It's best to put a cover on the can though, more to keep bugs and mice out of it than anything. Bonus: the longer it sits between cleanings, the more of the fine dust and grime settles out. :)

If you can't do that, I think everyplace at least has one annual household hazmat collection day. Some places will take household hazmats at the landfill all year round. It might not hurt to check an auto parts store? I think it's federal law that every place that sells oil or lead-acid batteries has to take used oil and battery cores in for recycling - so it's possible there are state laws that would make it easier to recycle solvents, too. Nothing like that around where I live, though, unfortunately.

Duh! :rolleyes: I completely forgot about the city's waste program. I haven't had a need to for it in a long time so I forgot. Good idea!

But maybe I won't need it with your idea for storing in a container, thanks Oakleaf!

dt