How to Get Ebike Grease Out of Clothes

You may be thinking that it is rare for anyone to get ebike grease on their clothes and, if it does happen, it'll happen at a time when you're using grease on your ebike and are wearing clothes you keep aside for wearing whilst undertaking such dirty tasks. Sadly this is not true.

Whether you be riding, cleaning, or tuning your ebike it is almost inevitable that you’ll get some grease or road grime on your clothes at some point. Whilst this may seem like the end of the road for this garment, you don’t have to consign it to the “once clothing now rags” pile just yet!

All is not lost and, if you’re quick, you can remove ebike grease from clothing without using too much elbow grease. However, if you fail to spot that grease stain until much later all is still not lost! You may just need to apply a little more elbow grease to go through the process of removing ebike grease from clothing. Before we discuss how to remove bike grease from clothes let’s first look at the whys and whats of ebike grease.

Why Does My Ebike Need Grease?

Much like oil in a motor engine, ebike grease helps the moving parts of your ebike move past each other with as little friction as possible; thereby not damaging each other or creating excessive heat that can cause irreparable warping of metal parts.

Ebikes are finely tuned machines and ebike grease is imperative to the functioning of all the moving parts of your ebike for the reasons mentioned above. Without it, your bearings, gears, motor, shocks, derailleur, brakes, and other moving parts would quickly seize up and stop working. If the moving parts that need grease are always properly greased up then they will run smoother, and last a lot longer, than any parts that don’t receive the grease loving they need.

What is Ebike Grease?

Ebike grease is a mix of lubricating oil and a thickener, usually a lithium or calcium-based “soap”, which helps to make the oil thicker and stickier. This mix may be great for your ebike’s moving parts but it does, unfortunately, provide a headache for whoever may be doing the laundry. Luckily there are many methods proven to help remove electric bike grease from clothing.

3 Methods To Get bike Grease Out of Clothes

There are many ways to get ebike grease out of clothes using a variety of common household products that most people will have on hand. So when you choose how to remove electric bicycle grease from clothing you have a few options available to you.

There are different stages of grease stains, those that are fresh and those that have had time to set and soak into the fabric. The method you choose for how to get electric bicycle grease out of clothes will depend on whether the grease is now, or stained on.

NOTE: Before using anything other than washing detergents on your clothes first test the product on an inconspicuous spot to ensure that it is not going to discolor or adversely affect the fabric.

Method 1: Dish Soap (Best for fresh grease marks but works on stains too)

For this you want a dish soap that is designated a degreaser. Dawn is the most famous brand used for cleaning oil and grease from clothes and even ducks.

1. 1. Take the clothes and apply dish soap to the greased area.
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3. 2. Gently rub the soap into the greased area and leave to soak for ten minutes.
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5. 3. After 10 minutes run the greased area under hot water, stained side down so that the grease and soap run out of the clothes, not through them.
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7. 4. This may not remove all the grease. If it doesn’t then reapply the dish soap and rub it with a bristled dish brush to help lift the more stubborn parts of the stain. Leave for ten minutes again.
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9. 5. Rinse and repeat this process until the grease is gone!

Method 2: Baking Soda (Best for fresh stains on delicate clothes like those made of wool or silk)

1. 1. Pour baking soda onto the stain.
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3. 2. Leave it all alone for 6-8 hours or overnight; longer is better. The baking soda will slowly draw the grease out of the clothing through osmosis.
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5. 3. After waiting patiently wipe the baking soda from the clothing and most of the grease should have been sucked out by the baking soda.
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7. 4. Wash the clothing as directed to do so on the label.
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9. 5. Allow the piece of clothing to air dry to ensure that the stain is gone. If you tumble dry the heat will help to preserve the stain in the article of clothing.

Method 3: WD-40 and Liquid Detergent (Best for dried-on stains on clothing that has been washed and tumble dried)

Bear with us. Yes, it does seem counterintuitive to use an oil to remove a stain but dried on stains are just that, dried on. Adding oil or lubricant to the now dried-on stain will reinvigorate it and allow for removal.

1. 1. Spray an almost excessive amount of WD-40 onto the stain.
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3. 2. Allow the WD-40 to sit for 30 minutes to soak in and bring the stained-on grease back to life.
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5. 3. Rinse with hot water to remove the oil.
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7. 4. Apply liquid detergent to the spot and massage into the stain.
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9. 5. Leave it to soak in for 30 minutes.
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11. 6. Wash on the hottest recommended setting on the clothing’s label.
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13. 7. Check to see if the stain is gone.
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15. 8. If the stain is still there repeat the above process until the stain is gone.

Preventative Tactics

Having got this far we hope that you have managed to remove the stain from your clothes. Now that this stain is out we’re sure you’re going to want to prevent this from happening again and potentially ruining another piece of clothing. There is no sure-fire way to prevent grease from finding its way onto your clothing but the most common place it will find its way onto your clothes is on your right, chain-side ankle.

You may see some people riding with their chain-side trouser leg rolled up, and this is the number one preventative method for avoiding getting grease on this part of your clothing. However, the best method is to keep your chain clean.

Cleaning Your Ebike Chain

Ebike grease builds over time as you lubricate and ride your ebike and it picks up dirt along both the road and the trail. Cleaning your ebike chain is simple but should be done somewhere you don’t mind getting grease on the floor. Here is a step by step guide for cleaning your ebike chain:

1. 1. Apply ebike chain cleaning fluid to your chain and wipe the whole system down thoroughly with a clean rag. Wipe the chain, the chainring, the cassette, and the derailleur, making sure you get into all the cracks.
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3. 2. Now the grease is removed you need to clean it all with another clean rag to ensure there is no chain cleaning fluid left behind. Wipe the chain, the chainring, the cassette, and the derailleur, making sure you get into all the cracks.
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5. 3. Reapply lubricant.
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7. 4. Wait for the allotted amount of time stated on the bottle and wipe off any excess.

Finished! Not only will a clean chain and drivetrain give you less chance of getting grease on your clothes but it also means that the whole system will run smoother.

A Last Word

Searching for how to remove electric bicycle grease from clothing is not a nice experience, because you were probably wondering if it is even possible! Once, however, you know how to get electric bicycle grease out of clothes you can ride with a little more confidence and help your friends if they ever find that horrible black mark on their clothing!

As we just mentioned, preventative methods are the best way to stop this situation from ever happening again but now you know how to remove ebike grease from clothing you can rest a little easier if you ever see that little black mark again.