Hand cleaner

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I noticed the swarf thread and thought I'd mention a recent discovery which has been good for me

Fairy Liquid. The concentrated green stuff, it's been great for removing workshop muck

….and it's kind to my hands too!

I have a big can of swarfega which has been lying idle for about a year now

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

The best I have found and I use it many times daily at work and in home workshop is "Boraxo"

Its borax and hard soap flakes

makes your hands so clean and soft

Does anyone else use it?

It is available in the uk but not widely or easily

[mechman48Participant @mechman48]

I use barrier cream before I start; I then use kitchen cream cleanser for heavier ingrained stuff ( yellow bottle ) for wet & dry polishing I use disposable latex gloves.

George

[Michael Cox 1Participant @michaelcox1]

Posted by Ian Parkin on 21/06/2015 11:32:18:

The best I have found and I use it many times daily at work and in home workshop is "Boraxo"

Its borax and hard soap flakes

Borax has been banned in consumer products by the EU so I suspect that it is no longer available.

[Ady1Participant @ady1]

I used barrier cream decades ago at sea and remember it being very good as long as your hands didn't get wet

[Gas_mantle.Participant @gas_mantle]

I always use washing up liquid too and find it works fine.

I read somewhere that shampoo is basically just scented washing up liquid, that was 40+ years ago and I still wash my hair in the stuff without any probs after all this time.

Must have saved a fortune in shampoo.

[Mike pParticipant @mikep]

Hi all, Just to add to this thread I use green hard soap from Morrisons only available in their larger stores. I find this excellent for all workshop dirt and leaves the hands soft too. I have used this now for the past 4 years and all the different gel cleaners I have tried cant hold a candle to it including washing up liquid.

Mike p

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

Been using manista natural hand cleaner for several years now, works great and doesn't strip the natural oils from your skin

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Just hand cleaner with a handful of sawdust thrown in.

Does two things, the gritty sawdust helps scour the ingrained dirt out and also stops the hand cleaner going watery with age.

[JonParticipant @jon]

Tried everything going and still return to Persil green concentrated washing up liquid used for last 38 years. Tougher deposits grimed in grease use a sponge.

[VicParticipant @vic]

Washing up liquid and sawdust works well but you can also use granulated sugar if you don't have any sawdust.

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

Is Borax really banned in the uk

or is this supplier aiming it at industrial users?

http://www.hand-cleaners.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d20_boraxo-hand-cleaner.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwwZmsBRDOh7C6rKO8zkcSJABCusnbqb2Ncl1gdE22b__LAl-9PmVCqsLE_SJF8QXGqGUoOhoC-fzw_wcB

[The Merry MillerParticipant @themerrymiller]

I've been using Manista for many years.

My son-in-law on a recent visit said to me "what are you using that stuff for"

Here's what I use at home,

Squirt some washing up liquid on the palm of your hand, add a little salt from the salt hopoer in the kitchen and rub.

It worked briliantly.

Len.P.

[paul 1950Participant @paul1950]

Swarfega Power Hand Cleanser is great not like the nasty green stuff that never works

[Derek999Participant @derek999]

Hello all.

I used washing up liquid for years until recently when i found out it was responsible for an allergic skin reaction where the tips of my fingers will split open right down to the underlying flesh. Obviously both painful and a prime situation for further infection etc.

It has turned out to be due to the 'preservatives' added to such products as washing up liquid, shampoo, soaps and hand creams, plus very many cosmetic products from even the biggest, most well known brands. Why such products could need preservatives escapes me totally, but these preservatives, called MI and MIT, are the subject of many warnings from British and European skin specialist bodies, with the result that the cosmetic industry is actively banning them, although only on what they called washed off products!

British detergent manufacturers seem to be ignoring the research body warnings, by adding both products to very many items.

Google "MI preservatives" to read the full details. It is unpleasant to say the least

Once sensitized by these products full skin recovery can only be obtained after months of non-exposure to the products containing the additives, and I can tell you that it is difficult to find washing up liquid without them. At present I can only use one type (from Lidl!) without spending around £6 for a fully organic product which hardly works at all as a washing up liquid!

I would seriously advise checking hand cleaners carefully before buying, as this allergy has my life hell for some years now, and even worse in cold weather as I also suffer from Reynaulds syndrome.

Best regards

Derek

[Russell EberhardtParticipant @russelleberhardt48058]

Posted by Michael Cox 1 on 21/06/2015 11:41:35:

Borax has been banned in consumer products by the EU so I suspect that it is no longer available.

I don't think it has been banned. At least not yet. It has been placed on a list for further investigation following reports that it can be toxic although it is still permitted as a food preservative for caviar!

Russell.

[Rik ShawParticipant @rikshaw]

I was under the impression that the only preservative in caviar was salt. I watched them making beluga some years ago and certainly salt was the only additive. Lovely stuff – caviar.

Rik (champagne and Guinness on ice and 1/2 doz. oysters for tea – oh happy, happy fathers day)

Edited By Rik Shaw on 21/06/2015 17:16:57

[alan smith 6Participant @alansmith6]

Derek999 gives excellent advice, I`ve not used detergents to clean my hands for many years and have a dishwasher (the wife) who wears gloves.

Nobody has mentioned vynyl gloves or those hi tec fibre ones. Unfortunately it`s difficult to use them all the time as the vynyl ones make your hands sweat terribly in the summer and they rip easily and are affected by oil.

Always buy the non powdered variety as some of the powder lubricants have been suspected of causing cancer. Remember, it`s not only detergents that are unhealthy for your skin, the oils and greases that you handle are just as bad and in the past, it has been reported that cutting oil that is habitually allowed to spray on your overalls can cause cancer of the wedding tackle.

Personally I use vynyl gloves and if I forget to put them on, I clean off the dirt on my hands initially with baby wipes and then with soap and water. Logically, these baby products that are used to wipe away the detritus from around a baby`s bottom should be safe to use and they`re not expensive.

Alan

[Derek999Participant @derek999]

Thank you Alan.

Unfortunately, if manufacturers care so little that these preservatives even find their way into lipstick, eyeliner and even lip salve, which of course remain in contact with the skin and hence, are even worse, it is not surprising that they are also in sun cream and most probably in baby products. Who knows, they could be an underlying cause of nappy rash.

Fortunately I have discovered that Carex hand wash is clear of it and cleans off any remains on my hands after I remove the light weight warehouse glove I use when working.

We have been used as guinea pigs by these unscrupulous manufacturers for years, let alone unknowing cash cows. I am not a fan of the EU, but if they can force in legislation against these callous actions then they will maybe get my vote later when (if) it comes to it.

I'll let you get back to engineering now, sorry to have gone off topic. I felt it was worthwhile.

Derek

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

I used to use washing up liquid but other the last few years the hand gets blisters on the back and itching and cracking on the palm so I use Swarfega type hand cleaners.

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

Olive oil.followed by mild.soap.

[frank brownParticipant @frankbrown22225]

My problem with Swarfega and All Jobs Hand Cleaner is that after a couple of hours my pores ooze out more grimey oil. So finish "work" at 5, wash hands with Swarfega, wash them again at 8 in soap and again at 10 then finally when I retire at 11.

Years ago when I was an apprentice, we used barrier cream, what a pain, it dries out so I had a fine clay coating on my hands then you had to rehydrate it before it could be washed off.

I have been cogitating on this problem for years, this thread is prompting me into action, So John, your olive oil has no secondary ooze-out?

Frank

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Washing up liquid with a spoon of sugar in it. Rub in well before adding water.

Another effective way of getting the hands clean is washing your hair (where applicable). Alternatively, make some bread, but DON'T get caught

What I could do with right now is something that will get Leylandii sap off. After two days with a pole-chainsaw and a weedy twig-shredder I have many black marks that won't come off

Neil

[nigel jones 5Participant @nigeljones5]

barrier cream iant what it used to be…use dri-guard, no drying and it really works

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