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What Hand Cleaners and Accessories Do You Use?

66 Comments

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Lava Pumice Soap

I was scrubbing some dirt from my knuckles when I wondered what you guys use to clean up.

Do you use bar soap? Liquid? Foam?

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Do you use a pumice-based cleaner? One with crushed-up walnut shells?

A hand scrubber?

Those moisturizer soaps that make your hands feel slimy?

Whatever is in the bathroom or at the wash-up sink?

Does it have any kind of scent, such as cherry cough drops?

I’ve tried a few different industrial hand cleaners, and even a frou-frou salt-based scrub. So far, I think I like the walnut shell-based soap most of all, although it’s just more of a scrub than a soap.

I’ve found that dish soap works quite well, too, at least for cutting through oil and grease.

As for brushes, I use a surgical-style brush from Lee Valley (which I also use on my kids’ hands), and also a brush I bought for maybe $2-4 at an auto parts store once. I also once got a usable brush with a large container of Gojo, but I lost it ages ago.

Or, do you always wear disposable gloves, which helps to cut down on how much attention must be paid to hand-washing?

So, what do you use to wash your hands?

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66 Comments

  3. Swarfega as used by generations of mechanics on the grounds that if it removes ingrained engine oil it will easily deal with whatever lightweight dirt I get from doing construction and plumbing type jobs. They were doing an orange (as in the fruit) based version which was supposed to be kinder to your skin sadly it was nowhere near as good at removing dirt.

    Reply

  5. Gojo for dirt/mud buildup, dawn for oil/grease. Gasoline when needed for paint/some caulking/tar etc. then have an acetone based chemical for blood and other stuff at work. Regardless, these are first go, then regular hand soap second.

    Reply

  8. I prefer dawn dish soap. I will use gojo on occasion, but a good scrub with dawn always seems to work fine. I tried zep cherry bomb but I HATED that the cherry smell would linger on my hands for hours so I tossed it.

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  10. I use Gojo Supro Max. It’s not like normal Gojo. I think it’s the best shop hand soap available.

    1. The smell it leaves behind is like clean clay – no oranges, cherries, or awful and persistent “pink” smell.

    2. I can use it 5-10 times during a very grimy day and my hands don’t end up totally dried out, knuckles don’t crack.

    3. It’s equally effective at removing cutting oil smells and food oil smells.

    4. It has enough grit to work but the grit doesn’t feel awful.

    5. They also sell a small bottle you can keep in the house at the sink.

    My brother gave me the dispenser and four refills for Christmas and I say a little internal thank you to him damn near every time I use it.

    Reply

    • GOJO SUPROMAX is beast mode.

      i love it, use it every time i can.

      doesn’t leave any residue, and cleans your hands like mad. never had it dry me out. pricey as hell though.

      Reply

  11. When possible I put some lotion on my hands before doing any work that will get them grimy. I try to wear disposable gloves as much as possible, but you can still get grimy once you take them off and still work on one last thing.

    I find that putting lotion on beforehand sort of allows your hands to pre-absorb good oils, and then cleaning up afterward is much easier. It isn’t perfect, but does seem to help make washing up much easier/faster.

    I picked up that tip a long time ago as a bicycle mechanic way back when, and I still swear by it.

    Reply

      • Any kind if fine. I think we had a big bottle of jerkins on the counter at the bike store. You don’t have to go crazy and leave a film on your hand. Just enough to kinda allow the dry skin and pores to soak up what they want, and then wipe the rest off before picking the tools. Too much lotion and you’ll be dropping wrenches on your toes.

        Reply

  12. Fast Orange for quick greasy/oily cleanup, no water required. I also use the Lee Valley brush with regular soap for cleaning fingernails.

    Reply

  13. I’ve been using the Grime boss wipes (and various off brand ones too) just for the convenience and find them to be worth the money.

    Reply

  14. I’ve also picked up a bottle of “WORX” hand cleaner that I saw recommended somewhere. It seems to work ok, but I can’t say that I noticed any amazing results with that. I find gojo or fast orange to be just as good when I need to cut through grease. Although I keep mistakenly buying the ones with pumice when I actually prefer the plain stuff. As soon as the next container runs out I will make sure I buy the grit free kind next time.

    Reply

  15. Fast orange with pumice is my go to for oily dirt, like you get when working on cars or metal work. Lava for soil, like after gardening.

    When I worked on a farm we used to use goop dry and wipe it off with a shop towel and then use Lava soap in a sink when we got home.

    Goop also works really well lifting grease and oil out of clothes.

    Reply

    • I like the goop trick for getting oil out of clothes, although sometimes it can go too far and leave a clean stain (if there such a thing), so as always you may want to test a spot if you don’t want to ruin something by mistake. I use goop/gojo for getting out oil stains in clothing as a sort of last resort.

      Reply

    • Exactly this. The majority of my work is on cars, motorcycles or related, so my hands end up covered in grease. Goop about 90% of the time, and fast orange with pumice for really stubborn stuff. I use a brush and fast orange to get the grease out from under my fingernails.

      Reply

  16. I really like the gritty liquid soaps. Like the orange stuff. I’m not talking about the soap with a little bit of grit, I mean like the industrial grade professional hand cleaner. That stuff works so good. And it feels kinda cool 😬

    Reply

  17. It depends on what I get on my hands and how dirty they are and what’s available when I’m out in the field. I used to keep fast orange in my truck box, but it exploded and made a mess. I generally don’t wash my hands until I get home from work unless I’m doing plumbing. But to be honest there’s nothing that will clean your hands better than a good scrubbing pad or scotchbrite pad and some dish soap. Not even gojo or any pumice soap can beat it.

    Reply

  18. I wear gloves religiously. Nitrile ones whenever I work on cars, tractors or motorcycles and leather or Mechanic-style for everything else. My skin reacts badly to oil and if I wash my hands too many times in a day my skin starts to crack even if I’m using lotion after – but I want to be clean! It’s therefore rare that I have any serious mess to clean off my hands.

    I didn’t comment in your recent thread about when you should or shouldn’t wear gloves for safety, but I read it and it made me realize I should probably be more careful about wearing gloves around power tools.

    Reply

  19. I got something called “Miracle Wipes” from Sherwin on a whim — and b/c I’m sometimes a sucker for the text deals they send. Anyway, they are AWESOME! They say “for paint” but they’ve gotten off silicone/caulk grime, grease, oil-based paint, and more. They don’t smell, and don’t leave a mess. I even used them to get paint off the metal fireplace and it didn’t damage the metal or leave a residue.
    I think this might be them, sold at Home Depot as well: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Miracle-Brands-24-oz-Paint-MiracleWipes-60-Count-3263/204370929

    Reply

  20. In the winter my hands can crack quite a bit and bleed from woodworking. I started using unscented Uncle’s Earls soap and it made a big difference. http://www.uncle-earls.com/ This is the soap I have at any of the sinks use for hand washing. It doesn’t leave a greasy feel like some of the lotion soaps.

    I’m out of it right now, and using a similar but pricier brand. When I looked at their website, I noticed they have the liquid soap now, so I’ll probably get that rather than the bars. I have several empty foaming dispensers that previously held Softsoap and I’ll just refill them with liquid soap cut with water.

    To get off paint, etc I sometimes use the orange stuff that has some grit in it, I got a huge bottle from Costco cheap. It works fine.

    Reply

  21. The orange Costco stuff is goop, I think. I also use regular goop for cleaning various things, including finished wood.

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  22. I use fast orange if normal hand soap isn’t strong enough. I started using it over thirty years ago when I worked at a printing plant while in college. That stuff was amazing at getting ink and grease off my skin and when needed, clothes.

    As I get older, I find I have to moisturize my hands. I use O’Keefee’s Working Hands. It’s not too oily, though I prefer the stuff in the tube, rather than the can.

    Reply

  23. I wear gloves most of the time but when scrubbing is necessary, I use regular Ivory bar soap and a scrub brush, nothing seems to work any better.

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  24. Mean Green power hand scrub has been my go to for years and recently I tried Bear Paw which seems to be the same just pink. These hand cleaners blow away the likes of Lava, Gojo, Fast Orange, and other popular hand cleaners. If you use those common cleaners, do yourself a favor and try one of the ones I listed, you will be amazed. Contact the companies for free samples, I’m pretty sure that’s how I first tried them. Plus the Mean Green is super non toxic and can be used to get rid of poison ivy (look it up). I make it last a little longer by combining it with regular hand soap.

    I will look into some cleaners others have posted here that I am not familiar with.

    Reply

    • I forgot, I try to wear nitrile gloves as much a possible these days. Can’t go wrong with a box of Harbor Freight gloves. I stock up often when I get them for $5.99 with a coupon.

      Reply

  25. I use this stuff called Chomp. Maybe you can find it in smaller hydraulic shops around Honey Brook, Pennsylvania. It’s made by a small company out of West Chester, PA. I think you can buy it online. It works like none other and is really gentle on the hands.

    Reply

  26. Used to use an offbrand orange pumice cleaner, but I switched to Tub O’ Scrub about a year ago. It uses walnut instead of pumice for the grit so it shouldn’t clog pipes and it doesn’t leave my hands dried out if I wash them a few times a day with it. I use dawn with it sometimes but you don’t even need to use water with it if you don’t want.

    Reply

  29. Tide or another brand liquid laundry detergent. It even comes with a easy-dispense bottle if you buy the right one (with the push button dispenser and the vent at the top).

    Figured it would be useful after seeing Daytona motor speedway use it to clean fuel off the track after the jet-dryer got hit a few years back.

    Reply

  30. I use GoJo out in the shop, but I have a bar of Lava soap in the mudroom that I try to avoid using. When I do use it, I get the jingle stuck in my head for hours, “I don’t need no Lava soap, nope……”

    Reply

  31. I use the powdered Borax (Boraxo brand) and have a small powder soap dispenser over my shop sink. Works like a charm- gets into hand crevices and cuts grease like nobody’s business. Cheap, don’t need much to work well, and if I run out of laundry detergent I can always use the Boraxo.

    I like the Fast Orange, too, but find it does not work as well as the boraxo.

    Matt

    Reply

    • I use Boraxo too, but out of the box, because I can’t find a powder dispenser. Who sells the (retro) dispenser?

      Reply

  32. Leah at SeeJaneDrill recommends salt to clean your hands at the end of a work day. Also olive oil rather than a solvent to remove oil based paints. I haven’t tried it yet, but plan to next time I have the need. I usually wear latex gloves, though. Looking at her hands on youtube it looks like it works.

    Reply

  35. I use the Fast Orange with Pumice Hand Cleaner. After using it to scrub my hands without water, I use paper towels to pull the dirt of the skin. Works a lot better then dish soap and a brush. I don’t like the lingering smell of the cleaner on my hands afterward however so I then wash with soap and water but the scent still lingers somewhat. Addl note: I accidentally dropped one of my Fast Orange containers and the push dispenser broke off. I used an empty 1/2 gallon hand sanitizer clear bottle with dispenser to distribute the product now and noticed how much of the pumice settles while sitting so I now shake it before using. And, occasionally the push dispenser clogs from the pumice and I have to pull it and clean it.

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  36. Use OKeefes working hands paste before working wash with Dawn after work and OKeefes paste after…never have split hands again….the best

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  37. Dawn dish soap (the blue liquid one) with coffee grounds added was tested by Grassroots Motorsports to be as effective as any other specialty hand cleaner out there. Why waste your money on the other stuff.

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  38. Fast Orange works great for me, and isn’t too hard on the hands. It does leave a little residue, so I usually finish up with generic liquid hand soap.

    Reply

  39. 9 mil gloves from HF, Hardy is the brand I believe. Zep Cherry Bomb, inexpensive at HD such that I keep one at kitchen sink and another in shower for serious scrubbing…mostly in Summer when coveralls are too hot.

    Reply

  40. Gojo is garbage,it doesnt work all that well,only thing it has going for it is low cost.

    If you want an amazing hand cleaner use Stoko. Can find it easy on Amazon. It has walnut shells in it. It can cut thru any nasty crap on your hands and it makes your skin feel amazing and like they are actually clean.

    STOKO 30362 Hand Cleaner https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0015P0QPS/

    Reply

  41. Mystery solved the references to “goop” and Costco mean I think it is known as Swarfega over here. Comes in green (traditional) and orange (more pleasant scent) varieties. Both work fine.

    Reply

  43. I use some wipes that have a citris degreaser with some aorta scrubbing stuff inbedded in the cloth. Works well if I don’t have water nearby.

    Lava is my home based soap. I like that it isn’t chemically smelly, and rinses pretty clean, though it’s degreasing action is a bit lacking . Tide laundry bar works extremely well for oily messes. Fast orange works well for the initial clean off for auto grease.

    I try to wear gloves whenever possible too, but sometimes it’s safer not to.

    As for scrubbing , I have no idea where I got this pink dual sided nail scrubber.. it has a scrub pad on one side and a single row of scrubbys for cleaning under your nails.

    Reply

  45. Working as an industrial mechanic in the oil & gas industry, hand cleaner is kind of a big deal for me. The shop supplies Stoko Solopol hand cleaner which does a good job of removing the grime and not damaging the skin but doesn’t do a good job of removing smell. My Mac Tools guy gave a couple bottles of there branded cleaner to me for free and it does actually seem to work a bit better, especially against the smell, also I price checked and it’s actually cheaper than the Stoko.

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  46. At the hanger we have dispensers of GoJo which works very well but I always double wash it seems. Once with the gojo and then a follow up with the normal hand soap.

    At home I use fast orange as it’s easier to procure when I need it and I think it works better on my hands – IE the newer stuff has pumice and it has that corn huskers lotion. Either Way it does cut the automotive dirt off my hands.

    BUT – since I don’t have a sink in my garage (next one will that’s for sure) then I often find in the garage I spray some purple power citrus cleaner on my hands and that knocks off most everything and I wipe with a towels etc. If I have to get residue off I use the hose outside. I do that often, before I come in the house and get the fast orange out for the rest.

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  47. I use what’s available. At work we have a walnut scrubbing cleaner. If I don’t have an industrial cleaner, I try to use dish soap with a bit of sugar poured in for extra scrub. As for brushes, I’ve found the Dollar Tree fingernail brush works wonders for the price. However, I would love to get one of those surgical brushes.

    Reply

  48. Baby wipes for light to medium greasy hands, Lava for medium grease and Snap-on Nitro Gold for heavily greased hands. Baby wipes works on tools as well.

    Reply

    • Yes! I’ve been using Pampers Sensitive, because my daughter’s still in diapers. They can leave a film on tools though, and are a little small for full hand-cleaning.

      I also tried Huggies wipes when I found a good sale after my son was born, but they had a strong smell and had a slimy feel.

      Reply

      • Yeah, we’ve been buying Huggies from Costco. It’s much cheaper than if it was on sale around here.

        Reply

  49. I have used super tough hand scrub in an industrial setting for 10 or so years and have found anything that can compete. It is a paste type that comes in a plastic container. But it makes grease and grime clump together and wash off easy. I would be willing to bet you aren’t disappointed if you try it. This is the website that you can buy it from.
    http://www.handscrub.com

    Reply

  50. Force by PK. Blue bottle, retro logo. I was doing some work with a chimney sweep / fireplace installer buddy and my jaw hit the floor upon rinsing. Apply to dry hands, rinse away everything dark. One shot miracle gel, it is. Plus, it doesn’t need an OKeefe chaser (though I use one anyway).

    I’ve gotten in the habit of using the HF nitrile gloves mentioned earlier when working with concrete. I’ll use em on large caulking jobs too, and when working with stains.

    Reply

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