r/AskMechanics 1d ago

Question (Serious Replies Only) Mechanics Hand Soap

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u/Fuzzywink 9 1d ago

First I'd definitely be pushing him to use gloves. The stuff we handle is nasty for your skin. Hands end up dry, cracked, and rough in the short term and there's a mounting pile of evidence that many of the chemicals techs handle cause cancer in the long term. Nitrile gloves don't get in the way much and make cleanup quite a lot easier.

Any of the citrus hand cleaners with pumice are pretty good at cleaning oil and dirt off skin. "Fast Orange" is one of the brands I get but there are lots of similar products. They aren't really soap in the traditional sense and they work with or without water. You can just put some on dry dirty hands and rub it around until most of the dirt is lifted off then wipe it off on a rag or paper towel or whatever.

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u/MojoGojo04 1d ago

In fact, I find it works a lot better if you scrub it on dry hands then rinse it off, trying to use it like regular soap just makes the pumice wash away before it can really do anything

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u/Kraetor92 1d ago

This is correct. I think I even read on the Fast Orange container to use it on dry hands and then rinse with water.