Removing Poison Oak from your bike...

I know how to clean self and clothing articles but how do you get it off your bike? It's not like I can put it in the wash machine. After getting a pretty good case of it last week, I'm avoiding my bike like a plague. The seat, grips, and the whole left side of the bike was laying (see pic below) in PO post crash. All I need now is to put my gloves on the grips then go to wipe some snot off my nose and spread PO on my face. How in the hell do you clean your bike and components?

I'm not touching that thing until I know for sure.

 

I dont believe that PO or PI will stick to metal like clothing because it cannot be absorbed. I would shower your bike with some Simple Green and call it good. I did a google search and I take it you probably did too with no results about removing from metal. I think any good disinfectant soap should work.

 

The "poison" in poison oak is carried in an oil-like substance. This is why if you don't have Tecnu or any other branded stuff, you can clean your body with rubbing alcohol asap. Denatured alcohol also works. You could use carb cleaner, engine degreaser, or lacquer thnner, but they're kind of harsh on the skin.

So, since you're essentially cleaning oil off your bike, you can use Simple Green or any other degreaser to clean your bike.

 

I've been paranoid like that as well. What I did was wet it, sprayed on degreaser (simple green) on the whole bike, let it sit for like 5 minutes, rinse it (not high powered, just running water), and then washed it like normal. Of course I did all that with latex gloves too and was very careful.

 

Geez, that brings back memories! When I crashed both me and my bike landed in a ton of poison oak. When it came time to clean it, I put on some rubber gloves and sprayed the entire bike with Simple Green then wiped it down. After that I didn't get any poison oak from it.

 

First, PO oil will stick to anything, and you can't necessarily tell. Be careful spraying Simple Green on your bike. It is a degreaser and can seep into crevices and ruin components (hubs, headsets, bb, etc). Also, paint thinner and carb cleaner can damage paint and plastic parts. Soak a rag in rubbing alcohol and wipe your bike down. It won't ruin anything and will evaporate quickly. Tecnu will also work on your bike and your clothing, gloves, etc.

 

I have used a strong dish soap. The one I use for this is Ajax dish soap, it is ridiculously strong. I don't advise using it on your skin though. through personal experience, I ran out of Tecnu, and decided to use said soap to remove the urishol oils from my skin. i didn't completely rinse it off (didn't know till later). When i went to use my regular shower soaps, it gave me a minor (2 places) chemical burn on my face because there was some residual soap on my hands when I washed my face with my regular shower soap, bummer.
But..for the bike, I have successfully removed urishol oils with a strong dish soap.
Hope this helps

 

The grips and seat are the two areas I was most concerned about. I guess a little Simple Green on both with a wipe down wouldn't hurt. I also need to wash my Sidi's in the wash machine. I know for a fact I stepped ankle deep in it, trying to get out of the mess I was in. I wonder if the fact that I was crossing the Arroyo withing 15 minutes after the crash and had water up to my knees and half my bike was in and out of water for the next hour or so washed away some of the poison. I know water itself doesn't remove the poison itself (evidentially) but I wonder if it helped a bit.

 

You could also try the poison oak wipes maybe? It should help to remove the oil.

 

It's kind of early in the season, but small creeks can carry a film of poison oak oil if there is a good amount of growth at the creek bed, so be careful during creek crossings too.

 

Get a bucket of warm soapy water, a sponge or rag and get to washin'. Use dish washing soap as it will not hurt the parts on the bike and will take any oil (P.O. or P.I. oils as well) and grease off.

Next time you go out coat yer exposed skin with "Ivy Block". I have run right through bushes full of PO with the IvyBlock on and have not broke out since and I am very allergic to PO.

DBD

 

Good advice although even with ivy block, still go home and wash thoroughly. I've got it even with ivy block - albeit probably less intense than I would have without it.

 

Soak the bike in gasoline for 20-30 minutes, and light it with a Roman Candle from 15' away. Should do the trick.

 

yeah, trick to get a new bike poison free, am i right?
i like the idea btw.

 

Like some of the others said,Simple Green and hot soapy water,rinse with water hose will do the trick.The seat should be no problem,and you can always replace the grips,if just to put your mind at ease.[-o-]Use latex or heavy rubber gloves which ever you prefer.I did this for a friend of mine who breaks out in a rash when you even whisper poison oak to him!#-oFortunately I'm not allergic to the stuff. Hope you get over it fast.- Lloyd

 

And most important, be careful "watering" the trail after contact with PO.

A freind of mine was convinced that he was immune to PO. He'd been in contact with it many times, and never had a problem. To prove his point, and to show his confidence in his belief, he actually jumped into it an rolled around. He learned that he was not immune to PO. #-o At least he didn't "water" the trail.

 

I forgot to point that out, I always wash off after coming in contact with the stuff. If I even see it but think I did not touch it I still wash off first thing after a ride.

 

I looked it up after Justin first got it mountain biking... he had had it plenty before, but I had no experience with it.

I read that there is no one that is immune to poison oak/ivy/sumak. There are those that HAVE gotten it, and those that are GOING to have it

 

Exactly!
I read that it's common to not get infected for the first few times of exposure - like you get free free visits - then it starts to get you. And I believe you become more and more sensitive to it. For me, I think I'm exposed if it's 15 feet away from the trail. :lol:

 

There is no such thing as "not being allergic to it". Some are more sensitive then others and some have a higher tolerance then others. When I first started mtb'ing back in the mid 90's, I use to come in contact with it frequently and never had an outbreak. In the early 2k's, PO was able to finally weaken my immune and I was no longer able to bathe in Poison Oak. From what I've read and learned, the more you come in contact with it, the more likely you will eventually get it. Once you do get it, the more you keep getting it, the worse the outbreaks.

Food for thought for some who think they're immune. Best practice is to avoid it all together and not having to find out the hard way.