I'm not of the keep your chain super clean school Reasonable cleanliness is important, and riding with grit in your chain will kill it off, and riding with grit on your chain will wear sprockets. It's hard to say why you got such bad service, possibly rust while idle for a long time.

Reviewing your routine, I suspect that step 2 may be the problem. After using solvent to remove or break down any oils, you're adding water a chain which is totally unprotected. The water will wick into the chain, the same way it wicks under a glass table top. Once inside, drying the outside won't remove it, nor will it dry in an hour on it's own. (time how long water wicked under glass takes to dry).

You then add oil which can't wick in because the spaces are already full of water, so it sits on top where you later wipe it off. Upshot of the whole routine is you're using water as a chain lube, with a film of oil on the outside to attract dirt.


If you wish to clean your chain weekly, use the solvent spray and the tooth brush together, then skip the water entirely. When the solvent has evaporated dry add your lube and allow it to soak in.

Or you can do a thorough job cleaning and drying the chain, and use a thick lube which will stay inside, and dry wipe the outside clean as needed. This is faster and easier and does a great job on road bikes, though mtn bike chains can get gritty and need a real wash depending on where you're riding.