Happy Sunday! I’ve been wrenching hard on a 1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee that hasn’t been on the road in eight years, and frankly, it’s been kicking my arse. As such, I haven’t had a ton of time to write weekend blogs, so here’s a short one about how I clean my hands when they’re covered in oil and grease.
Some wrenchers use rubber gloves when they work on cars, and frankly: I wish I were one of them. From a health standpoint, it’d be nice to not have lead-filled used oil and brake fluid and gasoline and all that leaching through my skin and into my bloodstream. But gloves ruin tactile feedback, and make it hard for me to know what’s going on in whatever blind nook and cranny I’m reaching into, so I’ve come to grips with the reality that in my old age, I’ll transform into something part-human, part-American Motors inline-six.
The result is that my hands get dirty a lot, and my brothers and mom regularly get on my case about how, really, I should wear gloves. Again, they’re right! But I lose all the feeling with that thin layer of rubber! I can’t deal with it.
[Ed note:
-MH]
Anyway, I’ve for years been trying various hand-cleaning methods, and I’ve narrowed down what works best. This is something that wrenchers are very opinionated about, so my solution may not be your favorite (you can tell me what is in the comments), but trust me when I say: It works really well.
For me, I use three products. First off, there’s Dawn Dish Soap. Yes, just regular Dawn, and no, standard-issue dish-soap doesn’t work as well.
I do find it bizarre how Dawn legitimately works better than the competition, because can’t the competition just copy Dawn’s formula? I’m sure some have, but most non-Dawn dish soaps just don’t seem to be able to get the grease and grime off my hands like that Bottle Of Blue can. It’s cheap, it’s readily available all over the place, it smells good, and you know it’s safe since it’s been used for a long time in kitchens around the globe.
The very best hand-cleaner I’ve ever used, though, is GoJo (or similar brands).
The key, here, is to get the original formula, and not the one with pumice in it. I realize how controversial this is, and I get how fun it is to have that gritty pumice rubbing between your hands, but the reality is that you’re basically trying to clean two smooth leather surfaces; smooth, pumice-free cleaner will work great. Now, there are very specific instances where pumice can help (like if you get RTV silicone stuck on your hands; the GoJo above probably won’t take that off), but besides that, it’s the smooth hand-cleaner that really works well for me. I mean, look at it go!:
I’m actually using Purple Power hand cleaner in the photo above; I find that it, Goop, and GoJo all work similarly well (though I prefer GoJo for no real reason).
What I like about these cleaners over Dawn is that they don’t require water to work. You can just have a can of GoJo in your toolbox, along with some shop towels (I love those blue ones above), and you’re pretty much all set.
Last but not least, there’s the fingernail brush, because grime will get under your nails, and neither Dawn nor GoJo will help extract it. You need something to get underneath those nails, and I (and I think most wrenchers) have found that a brush works best.
My hands are squeaky clean right now after having been filthy from tearing apart a four-liter Jeep engine last night. I can thank both Dawn and that Purple Power hand cleaner — along with those blue shop towels and a fingernail brush (I used an old toothbrush).
[Ed note: David made sure I put in Amazon affiliate links for these products because we might get a tiny commission from it. Seriously, these are like $10 for enough GoJo to last you, like, three Jeeps. So, yes, please click those links and get some GoJo and maybe a Roku streambar? Oh, you don’t need Roku streambar? Ok, fair enough – MH]
If you use a good lotion/hand cream first, much less soaks in—and what does comes right off. This becomes much more important as you age & loose elasticity. I use ones with lanolin. Throw away anything with alcohol in it (a surprising number of trusted ones). I keep Working Hands at the house, and Udderly Smooth in the van.
Plus, you’re pre-moisturizing your hands.
Dawn works pretty well on any kind of oil or grease stain on various materials—including clothes much of the time—and even does a decent job getting acrylic paint off carpet (not 100% if it’s a dark color on light carpet, but close enough to go from ^&@%#$& to [sigh] yeah, that’s OK, I guess). That stuff is one of the few things that are under-priced. The other thing that I really like—I always carry a small bottle in the car—is isopropyl alcohol. Not as great for cleaning hands as Dawn or whatever, but it disinfects and it’s good for cleaning non-organic stuff, as well, and also doesn’t require water. Yeah, they recommend not using IA on cuts as it can kill healthy cells around the wound, but it’s cheap, available, and a lot better than nothing when you’re in the middle of nowhere. I’ve also been using it my whole relatively clumsy life and have not had an issue except for dry hands as I’m getting older. Oh, and it’s also good for finding small cuts you didn’t realize you had!
I really don’t think Dawn is the best. I’ve had similar experiences with many different brands of dish soap, but my local junkyard has Ajax brand dish soap at the hand washing sinks and I really do think the orange Ajax dish soap works slightly better than Dawn or others. Plus it’s citrus scented, which is nice.
I’m team Dawn. My wife and I occasionally try different dish soap brands in the kitchen when we try to save a few bucks or just try something new; each and every time we agree that none of the other brands can even hold Dawn’s jockstrap.
Seventh Generation, Mrs. Meyers (we love that hand soap for the bathroom), Ajax, Palmolive, Method, various generic store brands… all garbage. Either requiring to use twice as much, or having to re-wash dishes after you just washed them.
While discussing such silly minutiae It would be remiss of me not to recommend Viva paper towels. Sure blue shop towels are fine. But they aren’t as good as the Viva Signature Cloth towels.
I’ve left those things in pants pockets, put them through the washer and dryer and they come through just fine. They’re magic.
My personal hierarchy is hand soap -> blue Dawn -> orange pumice whatever (they didn’t have Gojo and it’s a damned gallon).
There’s a parallel track for paints and glued that goes isopropyl alcohol -> paint thinner.*
At the top of both hierarchies is a solemn vow to wear gloves next time.
Suffice it to say that hand soap tends to last forever in my house. 9 times of 10 it’s not even worth starting there. It is weird how Dawn and only and specifically Dawn works so well.
*I have eczema and while that sounds wildly counterintuitive, Dawn is really, really rough on my skin. Less in a fun, hard-work-rough-hands way and more in a my-hands-are-blistering-so-much-and-so-fast-I-can-literally-watch-it-happen type way. So a few seconds with the high hazard stuff, then a through wash with Dawn, leaves me better off than minutes of scrubbing with Dawn.
Have you tried using a good hand cream first? See my comment above.
Yeah, there’s a whole thing I have to do with Eucerin Eczema (but not too much) or if it gets out of control, prescription fluocinolone. I can use aquaphor in a pinch, but it starts to blister if I use that too often.
Do you ever use Bag Balm? Yes it’s for cow udders and yes it smells weird. But I have eczema and my hands and feet love Bag Balm.
My grandma, who never turned a wrench in her life, thought me the dish soap trick in the 90’s. It really does work!
It’s GoJo all the way! The key is to put it on dry hands. Don’t wet your hands first and then apply the GoJo. Also, GoJo works great on clothes. Rub it into a greasy spot on your jeans and stick it in the wash. Greasy spot will be GONE! And it doesn’t mess up the rest of the laundry load. Amazing stuff.
Huibert, If that shit works on the grease stains on my jeans, then I’m going to owe you a creepily long hug.
Made my jeans look like new many times. Let me know how you get on.
Huh. I’ve been doing it wrong all this time. I’m going to have to try that next time I’m too lazy to grab some gloves but for some reason think it’s okay to spend 5 minutes scrubbing grease out of my fingerprints.
If you can find it, Goo Gone hand cleaner works nicely too. Waterless and with a modern squeeze design bottle, so it’s great if you don’t have a sink handy.
Ever since I made a deal with the robot devil many years ago…
I just take my hands off and pop em in the dishwasher.
This explains why your Zoidberg avatar is gone…
I was stripped of that avatar by other random commenters who felt I didn’t deserve it.
That’s a totally different story.
All I have to say about it is…
They were right to recuse me.
A few years ago we would have gotten an article from DT about “How to Defend Your Dirty Greasy Hands to Your Friends and Family”. You’ve CHANGED, man.
Has anyone tried a toilet brush mounted to a drill?
Only for my teeth. Does that count?
Well that explains your breath! 😉
ROFL
Worst vibrator ever.
Yes, but it leaves a raw layer on my anus.
Coffee and soap, works perfect.
Beat me to it. Although this is probably way too cheap for some. Before you all start dunking your filthy hands in Nescafé, we’re talking about coffee grinds, the leftovers after making filter coffee, or espresso.
You mean I can’t use the cold remains of my half-calf latte from Starbucks?
As a Diesel Mechanic my hands just stay stained. After initial wash using whatever version of soap my shop provides, washing your hair is a good way to deep clean them. Regardless of method, some crevices just stay black. Whateves.
The well seasoned cast iron skillet approach.
Just wipe it out with a paper towel, no real cleaning necessary, I’ll be using it again in a few hours anyway.
Diesel mechanic here. Please use gloves. I got cancer at 34 after being in the trade since 16 years old. I work in a unionized environment and see the effects of 20-30 years of poor PPE practices. Most guys have cancer and/or Parkinson’s before they retire around age 60. It’s just soul crushing to watch the deterioration.
without wetting hands i add some dish soap (Method) and baking soda, mix it until it becomes a paste, and just scrub, rinse, the follow with a regular hand soap. Hands tun like I haven’t even worked on the car, no lingering smell either.
Also, I add a few drops of dish soap to the laundry and no more stains or oily smells on any clothing worn out.
I appreciate your DIY version, thank you – I usually buy the premade stuff, but now I have the ability to whip up a substitute when needed/working on cars not at my place!
I’m rubbing this Roku Streambar on my dirty hands with enough vigor to start a fire but it’s not doing SHIT
You need the Ethernet version.
I couldn’t even find Roku Streambar in the cleaning products aisle or online. Did MH spell it right? I really would like to try it because my hands are sooo dirty.
– D. Trump
Dawn dish soap and a good (stiff bristled) vegetable brush are my go to.
In a pinch I will just use a palm full of course salt and the Dawn.
When impromptu wrenching occurs there’s always Dawn and sugar. Two things found in every break room in America.
Dawn, Gojo, and lava bars for the bits that need extra scrubbing.
I’m glad we agree on something this time!
I find that if I rub hand cream or Vaseline on my hands before wrenching clean-up is easier.
Not enough people know this!
Project Farm did a comparison of the different products last week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0KqcEXh_so
My suggestion for reducing the amount of grease, plan ahead, layout your tools and don’t rush.
Worse come to worse have a ultrasonic cleaner.. and dunk your dirty hands into it and let cavitation do its thing.
Was that last recommendation a joke? Ultrasonic is not good for your hands or any of your other bodily parts!
But it’s a reasonable suggestion, in this context. (See: dishwasher as parts cleaner, hubcaps as dishes, motor oil garment dyeing, et al)
It’s no more reasonable suggestion than telling someone to remove their lead acid batteries with a chainsaw. It’s extremely bad for any tissue you immerse in a running ultrasonic cleaner. Don’t do it.
I’ve seen some people wash their hands in the cleaner solution while it’s not running, but that’s also not particularly recommended since that solution is full of whatever crud you’ve cleaned off your parts. Less terrible than using a running one though.
Lighten up, Francis.
I don’t see bone marrow cancer as a particularly light topic. Sorry.
I’m a fan of Gojo. My dad always had that original formula in the garage when I was growing up.
About the fingernails: if my hands are really dirty, I’ll do a quick wash with the pumice version and then get out the nail clippers. This removes most of the dirty part of each nail and it allows the nail brush to work much more effectively.
Original Gojo is great both for cleaning hands and restoring old furniture finished with nitrourethane stain.
I used some German stuff with sawdust in it that was great, the distributor told me the company went out of business and I never found it again, the labels fell off about day 2 so a year later I don’t even know who made it- not Wurth they have one with apple seeds in it that is good too
I do need a Roku Streambar, but they don’t have Ethernet dammit.
When I was replacing the clutch in the MGB I found “Scrubs in a Bucket”. They are amazing scrubby towels that don’t require me to leave the garage to get grease and grime off my hands. They work so well that usually I just need some normal soap and water when I get back in the house. Truly amazing and highly recommended if you have a dirty job to do. They also work great to clean dirty car parts.
Agree. Our company even pays for them so we can go on to the next job without looking like we just pulled a 20yo transmission
Fingernail brushes are the unsung hero of the wrencher’s repertoire. As dumb as it sounds, I only discovered them several years ago and they are amazing. Life-changing. If you wrench, just go get one. Seriously, they have them at Dollar General.
In particular, they’re awesome for that oil-dirt-gravel plaque that older cars seem to accrue on components or fasteners on the entire front half of the vehicle.