Cleaning oil from hands - alternatives to Swarfega?

[hellymedic]

Some washing powders contain Nasty Degreasing Detergents and are rather alkaline, which might upset your skin.

[Fab Foodie]

At the risk of ridicule...








Fairy liquid and err.... sucrose

[rower40]

I've always used Tufanega, the version of Swarfega wi' bits in.  (Is that what Torslanda calls Swarfega Orange?)

During my first visit to a railway depot on an Open Day, I saw a 50-gallon drum of Swarfega.  Economies of scale...

[tonycollinet]

as well as all the above

Applying barrier cream before working helps significantly with oil removal afterwards, was well as protecting the skin.

[Martin]

liquid soap mixed with washing up liquid does it for me (no idea what it does to the environment when it goes down the sink)

[Mike J]

You can also get swarfega wipes too, which may be less harsh than the gel stuff.

[Quisling]

as well as all the above

Applying barrier cream before working helps significantly with oil removal afterwards, was well as protecting the skin.

^ this ^.
Barrier cream FTW.  Stops the oily stuff getting deep into the skin in the first place.

[Rig of Jarkness]

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

I remember a clubmate demonstrating this in a nice little tearoom once, using the packets of butter provided with his teacakes to clean his hands of an earlier roadside repair 

[tonycollinet]

as well as all the above

Applying barrier cream before working helps significantly with oil removal afterwards, was well as protecting the skin.

^ this ^.
Barrier cream FTW.  Stops the oily stuff getting deep into the skin in the first place.

Shame I never remember to apply it 

[Tewdric]

Blue nitrile gloves from screwfix.

[cyclone]

As a slight aside how about getting rid of the ceramic lube fron Rainmates - as I seem to spread it all about the house when getting stuff off after a moist commute  ??

[gene hunt]

Blue nitrile gloves from screwfix.

+1 yep same here, much easier also carry a few in the rack bag incase of problems.

[mattc]

There's only 1 answer:  fairy liquid and sugar.

[Ray 6701]

I also found Shotz electrolyte tablets work well at removing oil from your hands, no wonder they were making my piss sting 

SHOTZ ELECTROLYTE TABLETS at Up and Running

[L CC]

W5 heavy duty hand cleaner from LIDL is very good.

This in the house.
Swarfega (yellow with grainy bits) at work- very useful for removing chain marks gathered on the commute in, before showering. Or if there's an emergency fettle en-route.
Dried up wipes in the rack pack.

Who remembers gloves and barrier cream? Not me...

And I'm on a diet. No sugar, in case it gets absorbed through the skin.

[Fab Foodie]

There's only 1 answer:  fairy liquid and sugar.

Which do you find works best, Silver Spoon or Tate and Lyle?

[Gandalf]

I use stuff called Suprega.  Smells of lemon and has little granules in it, which the manufacturers grandly call 'polybeads'.

[The Mechanic]

Muc-off bike cleaner does a great job.  However, as your friendly HSE advser I must insist that you use gloves.  This is not as daft as it sounds.  There is no loss of dexterity if you get the correct glove.  Brain surgeons manage OK so I am sure bike mechanics can.  There are a number of long term affects from constantly getting your hands oily, including some forms of testicular cancer.   Wash Your Hands before going to the loo, as well as after.

while we are on the subject - spit, don't wrinse

[jogler]

Is it o.k. to gargle first & then swallow?Ms. Lovelace wants to know.

[Flint catcher]

Whilst cycling through arid regions, in order to conserve water, I have had to on several occasions piss upon my hands  and scour them in the dirt to remove oil. Once the bulk of the oil is removed I do then rinse them off with a little soap and water.  ( solid bar soap lasts forever, serves for washing clothes and is very light) 

[mrcharly-YHT]

I've just remembered a recipe from a sailing mag; paraffin and washing  up liquid. Get the proportions right, and it goes to a jelly. Works very well and smells just like swarfega.

[giropaul]

Arriving a bit late here, but:

I'm fairly confident that anything in Swarfega is as safe as any make-up or toiletries.

That's because the place that the chap/people that started DEB used, I believe, to work in a company that produced pharmaceutical standard oil-based products - things like baby oil and pharmaceutical petroleum jellies (often known as  Vaseline). Customers included many of the top-names in the cosmetic industry.

Swarfega would, I'm sure, have been formulated to the same standards.

[Mrs Pingu]

Thread necromancy. What are people using these days, apart from washing up liquid & sugar?
W5 and Ecover heavy duty hand cleaners don't appear to exist anymore. I don't mind the Rema Tip Top stuff but I don't like it being in a tube much.

[Basil]

I use ordinary cooking oil to remove or at least dilute the mucky oil, then clean of with soap and water. 

[Brucey]

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

I remember a clubmate demonstrating this in a nice little tearoom once, using the packets of butter provided with his teacakes to clean his hands of an earlier roadside repair 

I find it makes my teacakes taste funny...

 am I doing something wrong...?