How do you clean a bristle brush with grease on it?
02-20-22, 05:54 PM
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How do you clean a bristle brush with grease on it?
Dumb question, but yeah... For a basic kitchen type of bristle scrubbing brush, I've used those on my bike chains and things. Now they're black with grease.
Just... soak them in water with... WD-40 sprayed in? With some dish soap? Or use something stronger?
I'm sure the brushes fine. If I'm going to clean something, I'm looking at a brush that now has black bristles though. I could get a new one... Except I did that, and now I've got 4-5 of these bristle scrubbing brushes with black bristles from grease.
Just... soak them in water with... WD-40 sprayed in? With some dish soap? Or use something stronger?
I'm sure the brushes fine. If I'm going to clean something, I'm looking at a brush that now has black bristles though. I could get a new one... Except I did that, and now I've got 4-5 of these bristle scrubbing brushes with black bristles from grease.
02-20-22, 05:56 PM
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02-20-22, 06:49 PM
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Dumb question, but yeah... For a basic kitchen type of bristle scrubbing brush, I've used those on my bike chains and things. Now they're black with grease.
Just... soak them in water with... WD-40 sprayed in? With some dish soap? Or use something stronger?
I'm sure the brushes fine. If I'm going to clean something, I'm looking at a brush that now has black bristles though. I could get a new one... Except I did that, and now I've got 4-5 of these bristle scrubbing brushes with black bristles from grease.
Just... soak them in water with... WD-40 sprayed in? With some dish soap? Or use something stronger?
I'm sure the brushes fine. If I'm going to clean something, I'm looking at a brush that now has black bristles though. I could get a new one... Except I did that, and now I've got 4-5 of these bristle scrubbing brushes with black bristles from grease.
I doubt that you will ever get the bristles back to pristine white no matter what you do (hint: get brushes with black bristles), but you might be able to remove some of the grease by soaking in Simple Green for an extended period. Mineral spirits might work as well but expect some grease to remain in the bristles. I’d avoid WD-40 because it contains oil. No need to add more oil into a situation where you trying to remove oil.
Please do not use gasoline. Is you house worth saving a brush?
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Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
02-20-22, 07:16 PM
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Yep, use old toothbrushes then throw them out. You can create a bunch of waste trying to clean them.
02-20-22, 09:54 PM
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Hint: have a brush for dirty greasy stuff, and one that you use for clean stuff. Do not use both of them for dirty/greasy stuff and you won't have the problem.
If it's too greasy for even bike cleaning, either soak it in mineral spirits and maybe clean it with a wire brush (that's what i do with paint brushes), or throw it away, start using the "clean" one for greasy stuff, and buy a new clean one.
If it's too greasy for even bike cleaning, either soak it in mineral spirits and maybe clean it with a wire brush (that's what i do with paint brushes), or throw it away, start using the "clean" one for greasy stuff, and buy a new clean one.
02-21-22, 09:11 AM
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Try soaking with "Dawn" dish soap. Use the name brand version as some of the generic versions don't work as well with grease. You'll probably never get the black color out but doesn't really matter if you're using them to clean more grease off parts.
