I finally broke down and got a chain cleaning tool last week -- the White Lightning, only $10. Kicking myself for not doing it sooner. Much easier and more effective than hand scrubbing with brushes. I do this outdoors anyway, so the leaking and sloshing doesn't bother me. Supposedly other tools slosh less.

Main advantage to the White Lightning is the relatively small fluid reservoir. Very little waste. But don't believe the 30-second single-pass hype, unless you clean and relube every ride. I need about three passes of 60 seconds each. But it does work.

I homebrew my degreaser from Stanley degreaser, alcohol, Oxyclean spray and water. But just about any degreaser would work.

If the White Lightning breaks I'll replace it with a tool that also includes side scrubbing brushes. The White Lightning gets inside the links well, but it lacks side scrubbers.