Author Topic: chain grease on polypropylene raingear  (Read 4097 times)

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Offline Havenga-good-time

chain grease on polypropylene raingear
« on: October 12, 2022, 04:41:08 pm »
I have an  O2 set of polypropylene rainpants, on which I got a lot of chain grease.  Before I washed them, I was wondering if anyone has some advice on getting it out of this type of fabric.

Offline canalligators

Re: chain grease on polypropylene raingear
« Reply #1 on: October 13, 2022, 06:51:05 pm »
A sailmaker once told me that oxalic acid cleaner works on dirty synthetics.  You can buy it at a sailing supply.  But I took a shortcut and use OxyClean to clean grimy-greasy panniers.  I pour a bit directly on the fabric, then scrub it with a bristle brush, and it works well.  Note that panniers are usually nylon, I don’t know if this will work on (or damage) polypropylene.

Offline David W Pratt

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Re: chain grease on polypropylene raingear
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2022, 07:59:48 pm »
Olefins, like polypropylene, have a high affinity for oils and greases.  I might try pretreating it with olive oil to try to mobilize some the grease with an easily washed oil.  Otherwise, I'd just consider the stains as part of the patina attesting to actual use.