Cleaning oil from hands - alternatives to Swarfega?

[hellymedic]

Cooking oil.  Simples.

Rub it into your hands to dilute the dirty oil on your hands.  Then neat washing up liquid and a nail brush.

Although I have to be careful.  Mrs. B is even less impressed with oily fingerprints on the cooking oil bottle than she used to be with marks on the washing up liquid container.

These or mayonnaise or butter. (Handy little portion packs swiped from pub tables can give you clean hands before lunch.) Rub Greasy Foodstuff into hands well. Wipe off with dry cloth, tissue or paper towel.
Then wash with warm water and washing-up liquid.
Avoid drying hands with Wife's Best White Towels...

[oncemore]

They'll only get dirty again tomorrow.

[Ray 6701]

Washing up liquid & sugar 

[interested]

What do forumites use to remove heavy layers of bike oil from their hands?  I know swarfega will work, but I know it also isn't necessarily the healthiest thing to be rubbing on your skin.

Cooking oil mixed with some washing up liquid. It is remarkable effective. By adding a mild abrasive like coffee grounds or salt, even dried paint can be scrubbed off without leaving your hands feeling red and raw by scrubbing.

Since I don't have running water where I work with my bicycle, I sometimes uses this Rema TipTop product that doesn't require water to clean:
https://roseversand.com/accessories/personal-hygiene/body-care/bodycare/tip-top-clean-up.html?cid=156&detail=10&detail2=510

I haven't tried the Ecover solution recommended elsewhere, but I swear by Ecover products for washing and cleaning etc. Good products without the nasty stuff by a company that actually cares about the environment.

--
Regards

[Torslanda]

Wickes do boxes of 50 pairs for a fiver

What a rip off! We are lucky to get 2.99 ex vat for ours . . .

Swarfega Orange FTW.

[Kim]

Swarfega (or the less effective Aldi version) and/or fairy liquid are my usual approach, but I've recently discovered that cheapo own-brand henna shampoo is surprisingly effective on oily gunk.

If it's really bad, a clean solvent or oil can be more effective in the first instance than a detergent.

[phil d]

Baby wipes are reputedly good.

Not as good, generally, as make-up remover.  The latter contains isopropyl alcohol, which works well.

Occasionally I find sample packs, which are better than a normal pack, as they don't last long enough to dry out, and fit easily in a saddlebag pocket alongside spare tubes.

[eck]

Handy Household Hint #342: if you don't have any fancy propriety cleaners, some neat washing liquid with some added GRANULATED SUGAR is the very thing. 

[Greenbank]

Does the #342 refer to the number of times it's already been suggested in this thread?

Washing up liquid and a bit of sugar (fairtrade obv.) to give a bit of dirt removing grindy goodness.

Fairy Liquid with a teaspoon of sugar.

Washing up liquid & sugar 

[Domestique]

Slig  

http://www.arco.co.uk/products/2758900

[hellymedic]

Johnson's Baby Oil.

Made from Real Babies™...

[eck]

Does the #342 refer to the number of times it's already been suggested in this thread?

Washing up liquid and a bit of sugar (fairtrade obv.) to give a bit of dirt removing grindy goodness.

Fairy Liquid with a teaspoon of sugar.

Washing up liquid & sugar 

 
Erm, but that's only three. 

[Rhys W]

Jesus, I can't believe all you people who use inappropriate household products rather than just go out and buy something suitable for the job. When your chain needs lubing, do you go into the kitchen and grab a bottle of sunflower oil? 

[robbo6]

No, but I have used cheapo (rapeseed?) cooking oil for tapping Al alloy.

Orange peel and milk for cleaning hands, with  a pinch of coarse grit if available.

[mAsTa RiDaH]

Washing up liquid and sugar, lots of sugar. Think goey thoughts as you rub that blue abrasive paste all over your hands.

Then rinse and admire your hands which at this point should be spotless.

[Greenbank]

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned washing up liquid and sugar yet...

[Butterfly]

Make some bread from scratch. Kneading is really good for cleaning hands .

[clarion]

But not so good for the bread...

[Butterfly]

No one ever notices...

[Jurek]

mmMMMMmmmm!  Bread which never rusts 

[Tail End Charlie]

Washing powder works for me.

[Jurek]

Washing powder works for me.

Washing powder and washing up liquid.
Hell, yeah!

Gives off ammonia and gets hot!
What's not to like?
Oh, and it does a fair job of getting your hands clean.
Without added sugar.

[pcolbeck]

Butter and sugar does the trick. Or lard. Any fat and sugar really.

[Erudin]

W5 heavy duty hand cleaner from LIDL is very good.

[noisycrank]

Basil is right - cooking oil (plus sugar if the grease is hard to shift).  The cooking oil disolves the grime, and the sugar acts as an abrasive to cut into it if needed.  Then use soap or washing up liquid to get rid of the oil once you've wiped your hands on kitchen roll.

+1

I have a bottle of out of date oil I use for the purpose to avoid the oily fingerprint divorce/murder scenario