Andrew R Stewart 

For me there are a few factors at play.


First is your brain cells and how aggressive the solvent is in killing them off. Some solvents really want good ventilation.


Next up is that the more flushing/flow of the solvent that happens the more the grit/grime/old lube will be carried out of your part. (This is why I never thought that wiping off a chain does anything more then make the non functional outsides clean.) Solvent on a rag is fine for non moving parts like the frame or crank arm, but for parts with moving pieces getting the solvent in between the part's pieces in vital for real cleaning of the working surfaces. Mineral sprits in a Tupperware container that can be closed up after and the grime can settle out allowing the clean MS to be poured off for reuse. Of course old toothbrushes make for great brushes.


For spot cleaning of lube grime I like Clean Streak. It's the bench top solvent at my work. It's very effective on grease, waxes and oils. It can be directly sprayed on the parts or on a rag. It's easy on the brain cells. It evaporates quickly and leaves no residue.


I have never liked the water based solvents. The versions I've used never cut through the old grease quickly, really wanted to be heated and when used in a bucket, basin or tank setting the removed lubed would float on the top of the solvent. This meant that when the parts were removed the slime coating the part still needed wiping off. I'm sure others have their experiences and might disagree with this one.


The last thing I'll say for now is that the stuff you remove, the grit/grime/old lubes are nice to the sewer system. So using a "bio degradable" solvent is fine is no crap is in it. I don't ever hear the bio solvent companies ever mention this issue. So I prefer to minimize the crap and be able to isolate/trap it. Hence the use of mineral spirits which can be largely reused after the crap has settled out. Andy.