Seat Rollers - Black Residue

[BrianStaff]

I have maybe 4 people using my machine at home and we were getting quite a bit of black residue which appeared as if it affect the efficiency of the rollers. So, I try to clean them just with a rag as often as I can, but sometimes it's hard work.

So, based on a comment in another thread that the rollers were made of Delrin®, I researched it and found that DuPont manufacters this product. I then emailed them to ask if they could recommend any household product to clean the rollers of black residue. Here is the reply (no snickering please boys<g>):

Brian, thank you for your inquiry about our Engineering Polymers resins.

We suggest a gentle wipe with isopropyl alcohol to remove residue from your parts.

Hope this information is helpful to you.

Shirley Goldsberry, DDF, Engineering Polymers, USA

Shirley Goldsberry
Engineering Polymers, Dial DuPont First, USA
www.plastics.dupont.com


HTH - Brian

[marvy1]

Brian

I use a little Windex on a paper towel. Works fine.

Marvin

[PaulH]

I am NOT putting alcohol on my parts, residue or not.

Windex works for me too, or a vinegar solution.

[johnlvs2run]

I used to keep a few drops of mineral roll on the railing, which kept the rollers and railing nice and smooth.

A few weeks ago I started wiping off the railing with a little bon ami on a damp napkin, then wiping off the residue. I do this once a week and it keeps the railing clean and dry, just going over the railing with a dry napkin on the days in between.

[still33]

John,
I haven't used bon ami- looks like a cleanser. Is it abrasive?

[Nosmo]

Windex works very well but water all does the trick with just a little more patience or elbow grease.

Alcohol will not hurt the rail or rollers--just keep it away from the electronics, chain and bearings and you have nothing to worry about.

[johnlvs2run]

John,
I haven't used bon ami- looks like a cleanser. Is it abrasive?

Bon ami is a very mild cleanser, that you can just on just about anything.

"The product's slogan is "Hasn't scratched yet" referring to the fact that it does not scratch surfaces. The Bon Ami mascot, a chick emerging from an egg, is a play on the slogan (the newly-hatched chick hasn't scratched the ground for worms and insects). According to its material safety data sheet Bon Ami's active ingredients are the mild abrasives sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate and feldspar."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Ami

I've found that water does not work very well, perspiration does work at times, and bon ami works the best. Alcohol is a drying agent. If you do use alcohol, I'd use a vodka water mix; instead of isopropyl alcohol, which is extremely toxic.

"Isopropyl alcohol is oxidized by the liver into acetone. Symptoms of isopropyl alcohol poisoning include flushing, headache, dizziness, CNS depression, nausea, vomiting, anesthesia, and coma. Use in well-ventilated areas and use protective gloves while using. Poisoning can occur from ingestion, inhalation, or absorption."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isopropyl_alcohol

[Nosmo]

"Isopropyl alcohol is oxidized by the liver into acetone. Symptoms of isopropyl alcohol poisoning include flushing, headache, dizziness, CNS depression, nausea, vomiting, anesthesia, and coma. Use in well-ventilated areas and use protective gloves while using. Poisoning can occur from ingestion, inhalation, or absorption."

Which is why they use it in hospitals so much
In grad school I used to use 99.99% pure grain alcohol for precisely that reason. That, and it only cost $1.99 per gallon on government contract. No one ever seemed to use it for drinks--guess we were a boring bunch.

[johnlvs2run]

Update: I've found that my cleaning mix of vodka and water works great on the railing.

I've been using this, once a week or so, for the past couple of months. The railing is shiny and clean.

[Cazneau]

Says on the tub that they contain no bleach. I keep them down by the machine, and wipe the rail and rollers with them. Also the seat and handle.

[badocter]

In grad school I used to use 99.99% pure grain alcohol for precisely that reason. That, and it only cost $1.99 per gallon on government contract. No one ever seemed to use it for drinks--guess we were a boring bunch.

You would be wise not to drink it. Ethyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water, so 99.99% can not be produced by distillation -- best you can get with distillation is 95%. To get to 99.99% can be achieved by other methods, one of which is benzene extraction, but then you really have to worry about what that last 0.01% is because it is NOT water

[korkiley]

I find that, as long as I wipe it down after every session, water works fine. Sometimes I also use a small amount of 7th Generation shower cleaner. I finally realized that the real culprit with rail and roller contamination arises from tiny foreign objects falling on the rail and then getting repeatedly steam rollered onto the metal. The most likely source of the debris will probably be from your cloths. Now when I wipe sweat from my hands, I do it above the foot rests and not over the rail. Putting your socks on while sitting on the seat can easily result in rail contamination as well.

Kor

[iain]

In grad school I used to use 99.99% pure grain alcohol for precisely that reason. That, and it only cost $1.99 per gallon on government contract. No one ever seemed to use it for drinks--guess we were a boring bunch.

You would be wise not to drink it. Ethyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water, so 99.99% can not be produced by distillation -- best you can get with distillation is 95%. To get to 99.99% can be achieved by other methods, one of which is benzene extraction, but then you really have to worry about what that last 0.01% is because it is NOT water

from a misspent former days when I was a scientist, "Spec Grade" alcohol was considered pure enough for drinking (and sometimes ended up in punches), but the cheaper forms were considered benzene contaminated. As this was 18 years ago, I cannot be certain, but think the "Dangerous" option was called "absolute alcohol" and was 99.99% ethyl alcohol not the 99.999% you quote.

Regards

Iain

[Nosmo]

from a misspent former days when I was a scientist, "Spec Grade" alcohol was considered pure enough for drinking (and sometimes ended up in punches), but the cheaper forms were considered benzene contaminated. As this was 18 years ago, I cannot be certain, but think the "Dangerous" option was called "absolute alcohol" and was 99.99% ethyl alcohol not the 99.999% you quote.

I recall saying to one of the professors, that I would be afraid to drink it because of benzene contamination, and he said, "you really think Jack Daniels doesn't have any benzene in it?" Which actually made much less likely to drink anything then I already was.

It was too long ago for my memory of the purity numbers to be trusted.
Also don't think anyone quoted 99.999%.

[johnlvs2run]

Benzene and isopropyl alcohol are two of the most dangerous solvents to avoid.

Common benzene polluted products, jello, candies throat lozenges, store cookies, cakes, soaps, hand creams, moisturizers, toothpaste, tea tree oil products, bottled water, bottled fruit juice, vaseline products, chapstick, hand cleaners, cold cereal including granola, pills and capsules, baking soda and cornstarch (use safe brands), cooking oil and shortening, ice cream, frozen yogurt, rice cakes, chewing gum, personal lubricants, flavored pet food, bird food, cattle and poultry feeds excepting simple grains.

Partial list of items containing propyl alcohol, cosmetics, shampoo, hair spray, mouthwash, mousse, body lotions, shaving supplies, rubbing alcohol, anything that has "prop" in the list of ingredients. If in doubt, don't give it away, throw it out. Primary sources in foods are flavors and colors, which are extracted with solvents and called a "spice oleoresin"; propyl alcohol is ubiquitous in cold cereals.

Other chemical pollutants in foods include acetone, carbon tetrachloride, decane, hexanes, isophorone, methyl ketones, methylene chloride, pentane, toluene, xylene, trichloroethane, tcethylene, wood alcohol (methane).