How to clean Park Tool Chain Cleaner?
 

Hi guys,

Need a bit of advice.

I have a park tool chain scrubber. Something just like this:

https://www.parktool.com/product/cyc...crubber-cm-5-2

After cleaning my mates bikes, its now full of oil and dirty. I've filled it with hot water etc, but doesnt get rid of the oil.

What can i do to clean it fullly please?

Thanks

I use Simple Green as a degreaser for the chain, although any good biodegradable degreaser will work. Once I get done cleaning the chain, I dump it out and clean it with water. Using Simple Green, it comes out pretty clean but sometimes I have to run my fingers along some of the areas that are a bit more greasy.

Pressure washer?

what did you use in it to clean the chain?

This is a perfect example of why these chain scrubber tools are a complete waste of time.

This whole thing is going to be, if not already, a hazmat situation with "green" cleaner full of oil poured down the drain.

My recommendation is to forget the chain scrubber and learn to remove the chain and clean it with odorless mineral spirits.

A LBS did a show and tell for our club last summer where he washed a members bike. He used a commercial can of some bike cleaner product. As I recall it was some environmentally friendly foamy stuff out of an aerosol can. He used one of those chain cleaner contraptions too. The bike he washed wasn't particularly dirty or grungy IMO. He didn't seem to concerned with getting the chain cleaner contraption all that clean after he used it, but then I'm sure the shop uses it daily. One thing I remember him saying is that washing a bike was the first thing they do when they get a bike in the shop to work on, no one likes working on a filthy dirty bike. And he advised to use one rag to clean the really greasy bits and another to wash the frame etc. - throw away the greasy rag when your done. Then at the next wash use the rag you used to wash the frame to wash the greasy bits and get a fresh rag to wash the frame. He also suggested washing your bike weekly.

Oh, that's easy. You need the Park Tool Chain Cleaner Cleaner. :D

I just rinse mine out with water. It still looks dirty afterward, but cleans my chains fine. I'd rather save time and clean my chains more regularly than cleaning less frequently as a result of expending more time on getting everything spotless. And I'd much rather leave the chain on than burn through chain pins or master links.

I rinse mine off with water and just about all of the dirt comes off. I've never had problems cleaning mine after all these years.
How dirty was the chain you cleaned? Sounds like something that was really greasy.

I've been using these cleaners for years, and they do get dirty. The best cleaner is the "automotive" variety of Simple Green, which is stronger than the ordinary stuff. There is a sponge inside the cleaner with the chain runs though after going through the brushes, this captures and holds a lot of dirt and broken-down oil. Keeping the sponge clean will help keep the rest of the machine clean, and make the chain cleaner as well. To get the worst of the oil out, use Simple Green and a toothbrush.

I have also found that some oils are easier to clean than others. The best stuff I have ever used is Kleenbore gun conditioner. It lubricates and protects, but is easier to clean up.

Beat me to it.

https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-l...busey-ad/n9737

sink. dawn detergent. latex gloves, use your fingers to get into the bristles

To clean my chain I use Krud Kutter liquid bio cleaner in my Park Tool chain cleaner. I also use the Krud Kutter in a spray bottle with an old paint brush to get into recessed areas. Then rinse.

Regarding environmental concerns, these cleaners are emulsifying cleaners. That means they have ingredients that force oil to mix with water. Laundry soaps and dish soaps are also emulsifying cleaners. So from our kitchen sinks, dishwashers and washing machines we are sending emulsified oils down the drain to the municipal water treatment plant or into your septic tank. There are bacteria that consume oils. This is a slow process and conditions such as pH have to be proper for the bacteria to survive.

Organic solvents (mineral spirits, gasoline, kerosene, etc.) are fantastic emulsifiers. The oils still exist within the used solvent. So if you're concerned its you decision what to do with that.

Exactly. There is no such thing as green or "biodegradable" used degreaser and it should never be dumped down the drain.

I let the dirt settle out and reuse. To discard the dirty stuff, evaporate and trash.

The brushes and sponges inside the unit are made to be removed for cleaning and replacement. They come out with a slight pull. You can also remove the magnet at the bottom that collects any of the loose metal remnants from the chain. I've cleaned mine several times, piece of cake.

You need to buy a Park Tool Chain Cleaner Cleaner.

Be sure to also buy the Park Tool Chain Cleaner Cleaner Cleaner, for when the Cleaner Cleaner gets dirty.

You know, I've probably used my Park Took chain-cleaning contraption a few times before I realized just what an awkward, cumbersome, and messy waste of money it actually is, as opposed to simply delinking the chain and leaving it soaking in some degreaser (I use Simple Green Pro Series automotive) overnight, and then rinsing it with some Kärcher universal cleaner and tap water and leaving it to dry in the sun.

To answer the OP's question, though, I use the same Kärcher universal cleaner to clean out my chain cleaner tool. for the little sponge that's in there, I follow that up with some dish washer soap.

Jeez lol

I've used the same Park Chain Cleaner tool for years. After each use I just spray some whatever degreaser I'm using (now working my way through a jug of Simple Green, have used GreenShield in the past) on it and let it soak while I lube up the chain and any other bike maintenance I"m doing. When I'm done and putting everything away, I dump the degreaser out on my lawn (no grass has ever been harmed with this process, not even the weeds...) and spray into the chain cleaner with my hose, spinning the brushes, etc.

About once per year, I'll take the brushes out (as someone else pointed out, they come out pretty easily) and spray them with the degreaser and let it soak, then wash them off.

Over the winter, when my hoses are off and I'm doing this indoors after using the tool to clean the chain, I fill it with warm water and run the chain through it again, to remove the degreaser from the chain before applying lube to the chain. That keeps the cleaner clean enough over the winter.

On the environmental note, the science is on the side of sal's post - I liked using GreenShield to feel better, but ran out and had the jug of SimpleGreen around. But, a lifetime of chain cleaning doesn't come close to one day of washer and dishwasher draining into my septic system.

This sounds pretty much exactly what I do re: the rag rotational system. I Don't use a foamy product, but for frame and other bits I use the White Lightning spray wash product.

Degreaser and your mates toothbrush

Who is this guy, posting real and pertinent information in a BF thread?

(Because I am a mutant, I give three thumbs up.)

Not really, but if you are concerned about what to do with the solution once you finished cleaning the chain, you can do what I have done in the past. Take a 5 gallon, plastic bucket, fill it with sand and pour your solution into it. Leaving the bucket in a sunny area, without the lid, will dry the solution and you can reuse it as long as you like. Since I've switched from a wet lube to a dry lube (Squirt), I seldom use the chain scrubber but now I have to take the mineral spirits down to the dump for proper disposal when it get to where it's no longer effective.