Using a steam cleaner on my bike

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johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Hi again.
Today I bought a steam mop to clean my large kitchen floor. As it happens, its brilliant and works really well. As its my new toy I've tackled all kinds of jobs with it this last hour and find it quite satisfying watching it clean away all the grime. It can easily be changed to be used as a hand held cleaner and has got me thinking if I could use it on my bike and in particular the chain/gears etc (all the oily bits in other words :-)
Would it damage my paintwork etc if I used it on my bike.
Just thought I would ask ,just in case anybody here has used one before :-) :-)
All the best
Johnny.
 

Welsh wheels

Lycra king
Location
South Wales
Hi again.
Today I bought a steam mop to clean my large kitchen floor. As it happens, its brilliant and works really well. As its my new toy I've tackled all kinds of jobs with it this last hour and find it quite satisfying watching it clean away all the grime. It can easily be changed to be used as a hand held cleaner and has got me thinking if I could use it on my bike and in particular the chain/gears etc (all the oily bits in other words :-)
Would it damage my paintwork etc if I used it on my bike.
Just thought I would ask ,just in case anybody here has used one before :-) :-)
All the best
Johnny.
I can't give detailed reasons why, but offhand it sounds like a bad idea.
 

SkipdiverJohn

Deplorable Brexiteer
Location
London
Personally, I wouldn't use a steam cleaner on my bike. Like you said, it is very likely to cause paintwork damage. Steam is very powerful and it deserves respect.

Depends on the bike. it'll clean filth off a scruffy hack, but it'll also take the decals off a tidy bike. Depends if the bike is smart enough to care about cosmetically or not. I wouldn't get steam anywhere near a freewheel though, you want to keep them oily not remove the lubrication and cause them to go rusty!
 
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johnnyb47

johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Ok ,well thanks for you thoughts on this. I will take your well valued advice and steer clear of using it on my bike. I,'ll have to find something else to clean now lol. ( Hmmm the cats looking particularly dirty today) On second thoughts I'd better not :-) :-)
 
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johnnyb47

johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
In my shed I've got an old worn out bike chain thats caked in oil and crud ,and through curiosity I gave it a blast with the steam cleaner ,just to see how effective it could be at removing all the grime. Apart from some strange looks off the neighbours thinking that I had converted the shed into a Swedish sauna judging by all the steam coming out, it did a really good job of cleaning it. On the section I did there was no trace of gunky oil left and it looked squeaky clean..I,m not going to try it on my road bike though just in case it may cause me problems all ready mentioned here in the previous posts. (P.s
the cats still alive :-) :-)
 
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