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Winter tips for salt clean up

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Winter tips for salt clean up

Old 02-16-20, 10:57 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Oldsledz
Put some vinegar in the water it will neutralize the salt. We use it in the floor scrubbers at the school I work at. You don't need vary much maybe 2 oz for each gallon of water.
Vinegar won’t “neutralize” salt because there is nothing to neutralize. All salts used for road salt are neutral. Vinegar is a weak acid and all of the chloride salts used for road salts won’t react with it under any conditions. They will dissolve in the water but that’s not a reaction.

Additionally, the amount if vinegar you are using is incredibly small. “Vinegar” is a 5% solution of acetic acid in water. Adding 2 oz of a 5% solution to a gallon of water makes for a 0.03% solution. That’s a very tiny amount if acetic acid even if the acetic acid was doing anything.
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Old 02-16-20, 11:16 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by chupster98
For the winter riders out there - how do you clean your bike once it gets all splattered with salty crud?
I don't clean my bikes after very often and when I do I just use plain water to rinse the salt off. You don't need any fancy cleaning products or equipment, all you need is plain water...I usually wait until spring when the city stops salting the roads before rinsing all the accumulated salt from my bikes.
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Old 02-16-20, 11:22 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by Hexar
Rust in chain is the worst.
Rust on the chain doesn't bother me. I keep my chains well lubed. A chain is the most disposable item on the bike and gets replaced after each winter season.
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Old 02-17-20, 08:46 AM
  #29  
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I got the gardening sprayer out yesterday afternoon in the mild temperatures and I'm happy to report that the bike is much cleaner (and also well-lubed). It's a clean machine, and it's running like one, too!
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Old 02-17-20, 07:36 PM
  #30  
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I let the rain wash it off while I'm parked at work.
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Old 02-18-20, 07:40 AM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by wipekitty
Mild splatter: Into the kitchen...

Full cleaning: In the bathtub/shower...
If I were to bring any bicycle related item into either the kitchen or the bathroom...I'd hate to think of how it would play out with my wife. You know the footage where the homicide detectives say, "in my 30 years of investigation, THIS is the most horrific crime ever..." That would describe my demise...
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Old 02-18-20, 03:02 PM
  #32  
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I'm sure just water is fine. But I keep my bike out in the garage with no access to running water in the winter. So I use windshield washer fluid which doesn't freeze.
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Old 02-19-20, 07:09 PM
  #33  
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Wow!. This is so great! It actually seems like it takes 1 minute to clean yer bike! I am psyched!
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