I use a jet wash, don’t stand too close or point it directly at wheel bearings etc and you will be fine.
I wash my bike myself, jet wash it all over with water only remove all the grime etc, then I use snow foam apply it all over the bike, let it work its magic then jet wash it all off. Then use a bucket and microfibre mit, elbow grease with some bike cleaner either muc off or Sdoc (sdoc really good but dear). Go over the whole bike, including wheels and all the nooks and crannies. I also use Sdoc chain cleaner, spray it on leave it 15mins and jet wash it off. Dry bike off with a microfibre cloth, then ACF50 the shit out of the bike do not spray that stuff on your brakes!!
I jet wash it once a month, £4.50 on a petrol station, hot shampoo and all that classy stuff, spraying degreaser previously helps a lot… I did wash it one by hand, never again, such a waste of time, a jet wash does the same job in half the time. Some times I feel like a million dollars… you know… and for a fiver somone will jet wash it for me and work manually on the wheels. The good life…
We asked Dr Bob Eden BSc MSc PhD MICorr (Member of the Institute of Corrosion) for the truth:
“Washing up liquid does contain a ‘salt’ but this is the active ingredient and should not be confused with road salt. There is nothing in a washing-up liquid that will exacerbate corrosion – there’s no sodium chloride salt to worry about. The issue regarding corrosion is the ‘chloride’ bit of the salt. In ‘chloride nests’ at the base of a corrosion pit, the chloride exists as hydrogen chloride, which in damp conditions creates a solution of dilute hydrochloric acid, and it’s this acid that does the damage. You need to avoid ‘chloride’ from any and all sources, e.g. seawater, road grit and fish & chips (but not washing up liquid). When I wash my aluminium bodied Lea Francis, a dash of Fairy is just fine…”
Apply Gunk or Jizer with a paint brush to the greasy bits and go and have a cup of PG or Mellow Birds.
Wash with Fairy Liquid (nice soft hands like Mum’s) and cold water and a sponge.
Rinse off with cold water.
Let it dry and polish up with Mr Sheen/ Pledge/ Mansion House or whatever the Mrs has got in at the moment.
Realise it’s just as dirty again two days later and not bother again for a couple of months.
do not spray that stuff on your brakes!!