Originally Posted by
dfarinwi
Has anyone tried one of those small wand steam cleaners to clean their drive train?
Would you expect any problems from using steam to clean the chain, chainwheels, and cassette?
I don't want to clean bike grime from the bath tub each day here in my Wisconsin home, and our garage isn't insulated even though it is attached. After riding through salt and slush, I'm wondering if a quick steam cleaning would be a simple solution to get the gunk and salt off before lubricating the drive train components.
A method that has worked pretty good so far for me is to have a short section of garden house about 10-15 feet long near the water spicket that is easy to remove and drain after every use. With this method you are using low pressure cold water to clean the bike and drivetrain using a garden sprayer on the hose. The low pressure cold water will remove nearly all of the salt and dirt but leaves most of the lubricants intact since it is not hot enough to melt them away. Then bring the bike inside to dry and lube after it is dry. Doing this you can quickly hose down the bike after every couple of rides or after every ride if it gets really dirty or salty.