Where do these black deposits come from and what can you do about them?

[miket-nyc]

After a row, I often get deposits like these on the rail of my rower:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JcWEpHvBnnQc3pNSA

I'm not sweating on the rower or dropping anything on there, and I clean them thoroughly off the rail and the top rollers with Dawn dishwashing liquid on a wet face cloth.

But they keep coming back. Would new top rollers solve this problem? My Model D is fairly old and I already had to move the bottom rollers to reduce seat wobble.

Mike Taglieri

[Ombrax]

Nothing you can do about it, other than cleaning the rail (and the rollers if necessary) before or after a workout. I do it before, to also take off any accumulated dust since I last rowed.

They're very common, and as far as I know, everyone gets them. (I don't know exactly what they are, but others here will.)

When I use my Model C at home I use glass cleaner (generic Windex) and a paper towel. On the Model E at the gym I use the anti-bacterial wet-wipes they have in abundance. Neither approach seems to damage the rail or the rollers.

[Carl Watts]

Its the stainless steel slowly oxidising and it comes off on the rollers.

Get a stainless saucepan or frying pan, even if its clean the water goes black if you hit it with a scourer.

The rollers are a hard material, its just wear and new rollers will not change it.

Just wipe the slide and the rollers clean, I used to do it before every row using just a damp dish cloth, no need for detergent or anything.

[Sakly]

Just wipe the slide and the rollers clean, I used to do it before every row using just a damp dish cloth, no need for detergent or anything.

Exactly what I do since I got my erg Jan '23. Also better for the environment.

[jamesg]

Must be a mix of blood sweat and tears, plus whatever's in the rollers, graphite, MS. What's odd is it never ends.

[Ombrax]

What's odd is it never ends.

In fact, it's a bad, bad sign if it does stop accumulating - that means that the erg is only building up dust, not meters.

[Dangerscouse]

What's odd is it never ends.

In fact, it's a bad, bad sign if it does stop accumulating - that means that the erg is only building up dust, not meters.

Hahahahaha

[hikeplusrow]

After every workout, I clean the rail with a non-acidic glass cleaner I get from Sainsbury's. Prior to beginning a workout, I always make sure there's no dust or muck on the rail. My erg is kept under a C2 cover when not in use.

[Cyclist2]

What Carl said; no cleaners, just water. Plus, I use my finger wrapped in the damp towel to clean the rollers every row, too. I wedge my wrapped finger between the roller and rail (four times, once for each roller contact point), roll the seat back and forth a few times, then do the same thing with a dry part of the towel. It's easy to do this before I even get off the machine after the workout.

[gvcormac]

If I simply wipe the sweat from the rail after use, I get no accumulation.

If the wheels feel lumpy I wipe them too -- just hold a rag to the wheel and roll it back and forth.

My Model D is now over 20 years old, and I've never needed to use cleaner.