sometimes I ride sandy areas & it can get kicked up on everything. a few years ago I added straw brushes to my cleaning kit. the kind of brushes ppl uses to clean their water bottle straws. took a while to find some that fit between the small links in the chains. not something I always do, not even annually. but when the needs arises, they are handy to have. when the chain gets mucky I dip the straw brushes in mineral spirits. I'm not going to spray a hose directly onto my chain links. a little splashing is OK