Grease all over Pearl Izumi windbreaker - any hope?

[TrekJeni]

Two weekends ago, my rear derailer and my windbreaker got in a fight. I'd say it was a draw. Derailer hanger snapped off and windbreaker is "bloody" with an enormous amount of chain grease. I've soaked in in Dawn, nothing, I've scrubbed it with a sponge, nothing. The tag says 100% Polyester. It's wind and rain proof. Any ideas? She cost me a lot of dough and I'd hate to give up on her!

Jeni

[Bikingmomof3]

Jeni,
I would call your LBS, talk with a mechanic and see what they use to get grease out. I hope you can save the jacket.

[light_sabe_r]

Orange Oil.

Works wonders!

You can usually pick it up from your local auto accessory shop. It's cheap and you can use it to scrub or soak.

I even throw it in with loads of bike gear laundry of mine and BF's

[TrekJeni]

Jeni,
I would call your LBS, talk with a mechanic and see what they use to get grease out. I hope you can save the jacket.

My mechanic is at InterBike in Vegas. Won't be home until tomorrow. I miss him but he's useless when it comes to laundry! He didn't know what to do but robbed the derailer hanger from a new bike on the floor so we could ride togther the next day.

Was hoping some "chicks" might be able to help me out. Funny thing is, i work in a scientific laundry lab and none of us could figure anything out!

[mimitabby]

when all else fails, wear the windbreaker with pride... and stains!

[xeney]

Try Simple Green. It's safe for most fabrics and it does a great job cutting grease.

[divingbiker]

The only thing that would get grease out of one of my polyester jerseys was Goof Off, the nasty petroleum-based kind, not the environmentally friendly kind. I hated using it, but I hated tossing the jersey more.

[KnottedYet]

I have grease on my PI, which I haven't tried to clean off yet. Might have to one of these days.

[GLC1968]

When all else fails...have you tried rubbing it with a Magic Eraser? I swear those things get out the weirdest stuff. It actually got dog snot off my leather seats! They clean up the grease off my white bike super easy...maybe they'll work on the jacket as well?

[taranoel]

I have been very successful removing oil from clothes with Murphy's Oil Soap. Spray it on the jacket and then chuck it in the washing machine.

[ridebikeme]

I would definitely second either Gojo or Shout. Recently I had a long sleeve yellow jersey get covered with grease, and I do mean covered. AS others have mentioned, the Shout worked fine. I would NOT recommend WD40, although it may work to help get the grease out, you also have to think about the breathable properties of your jacket. WD40 will start to clog the pores of the fabric, and it will not breath as well.

[malkin]

Brewer tells me that one time his mom put gasoline in the washing machine.

Since the greasy clothes did not survive the fire, I guesss we can't say whether they got clean or not.

[TrekTheKaty]

My neon yellow PI with zip-off sleeves was the best purchase I ever made. She still has black marks on one sleeves from my worst wipeout yet. I wear it with pride. If I cared what I looked like, well, I wouldn't be riding my bike (wild jersey, helmet hair, bike shorts, buff and farmers tan)

[Norse]

DP got grease on her neon yellow PI this weekend - took some Dawn and a toothbrush to it, threw it in the wash (cold water) and voila - stains be gone!

[marni]

personally I swear by simple green sprayed on the spot and scrubbed in with a toothbrush. If that doesn't work I just wear the satin with pride, as it shows that I am a riding biker not a fashion biker, but then I have never been color coordinated or fashionable, prefering comfort and practicality over style. Henze the marine buzz, farmers tan and black shorts I can wipe my greasy hands on.

marni