Chain Oil on Carpet...
 

  You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more

Chain Oil on Carpet - Help me fix it!!

62 Posts
46 Users
98 Reactions
841 Views
Posts: 305
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Firstly it would be best to avoid placing any blame on what has occurred.  lets just say we don't know how or why it happened and we will all move on to find the best strategy moving forward.

There is a reasonable about of chain marks on the house carpet.  It seems to want to stay there and not be removed.  it is in a location that nobody else has noticed (yet) but soon will be

What cleaning products and techniques would you recommend I try before there is a suspicious fire in the room that we don't know how that would have started either?


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:20 pm
Posts: 7812
Full Member
 

lets just say we don’t know how or why it happened and we will all move on to find the best strategy moving forward.

The first step to resolution is clearly to identify a scapegoat for you...the unknown offender.

It probably depends on the chain oil as to what might shift it.  If it's Putoline you're probably stuffed.  😉

I assume you've progressed from
Bio degreaser through IPA to White Spirit already?

Have you tried a concentrated solution of lemon washing up liquid and a sponge/scourer or nail/old tooth brush? I'm pretty sure it was this combo that saved a charge on returning my old company car many moons ago.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:24 pm
mattyfez, tall_martin, mattyfez and 1 people reacted
Posts: 17779
Full Member
 

I think step one is make sure you have written a will.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:26 pm
Posts: 6312
Free Member
 

Automotive brake cleaner and a toothbrush 

I've worked in enough workshops and been an idiot with my own stuff to advise brake cleaner is a wonder product 


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:32 pm
leffeboy and leffeboy reacted
Posts: 9093
Full Member
 

WD40 - disolves oil. Really.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:34 pm
Posts: 9093
Full Member
 

Failing WD40, Screw fix no-nonsense degreaser.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:35 pm
Posts: 3438
Full Member
 

Good luck 😃
I've got nothing helpful to add


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:37 pm
Posts: 14711
Full Member
 

Forget WD40

Isopropanol is the answer

We had a rental house a few years ago and I'd setup my turbo trainer in the converted loft which had a pink carpet!

Had to clean the place properly when we moved out and of course the pink carpet had oil marks on it.

Sprayed them with IPA, left for a few minutes then blotted with a cloth and removed every single oil mark


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:38 pm
mattyfez and mattyfez reacted
Posts: 1617
Full Member
 

How many pages before killer is, well, killed?
Maybe Killer'sKiller will join the forum???


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:40 pm
Posts: 3117
Full Member
 

@killer we have a no blame culture but it's all your fault.

Degreaser, washing up liquid, scissors for a tiny carpet trim.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 8:55 pm
Posts: 2335
Free Member
 

Got a rug you can cover it with? Or move the furniture about?


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:02 pm
funkmasterp, crazy-legs, funkmasterp and 1 people reacted
 jca
Posts: 737
Full Member
 

Use your chain to ensure a consistent pattern is evident across the carpet, and claim it was how it always looked...


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:08 pm
reeksy and reeksy reacted
Posts: 8750
Full Member
 

Baby oil has worked for me in the past.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:08 pm
Posts: 16216
Full Member
 

Killer... a man not long for this world.

Name absolutely and definitely checks out for his Mrs though. Particularly after the chain oil marks now have wd40, lard, margarine and petrol stains added to them. 😁

Thoughts and prayers.

(Now expecting a post from a new member tomorrow called Mrs Killer about how to remove "claret stains" from carpet, curtains and the boot of a car.)


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:08 pm
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

After doing your best with brake cleaner or IPA, a careful 'shave' of the carpet surface with a razor will remove just the very top surface and any residual marks. For extra sneakiness you can shave a bit of carpet fluff from a clean bit and glue it to the stained bit to camouflage it.  This is a risky strategy as it is unlikely to survive first contact with the vacuum cleaner. However, if you are elsewhere when this happens, you have plausible deniability.  A gambit that may work is 'that mark wasn't there when I left this morning, have you trodden something in whilst hoovering?  Good luck!


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:09 pm
Poopscoop and Poopscoop reacted
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

Baby oil has worked for me in the past

Yeah, I can imagine but what about cleaning the OP's carpet?


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:10 pm
thenorthwind, lb77, gordimhor and 17 people reacted
Posts: 20169
Full Member
 

You're all looking at this the wrong way. The answer is to ADD to the stains.

As you're a helpful chap, why don't you do some painting and decorating of said room. Then "accidentally" knock the tin of paint over.

Then claim on the home insurance for a new carpet.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:13 pm
Poopscoop and Poopscoop reacted
Posts: 16216
Full Member
 

Yeah, I can imagine but what about cleaning the OP’s carpet?

😁


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:13 pm
Posts: 13330
Full Member
 

Many years ago someone in my house managed to get chain oil on a brand new cream carpet.

A user here who was a carpet fitter (I think it was the sadly missed Trout) suggested WD40. He also suggested you also give the door hinges a spray so that you can tell anyone else in the house that the reason it smells of WD40 is that you were fixing a squeaky door.

I can confirm it worked a treat on both accounts.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:17 pm
dc1988, lb77, GRAEMEJONES and 3 people reacted
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

In a former life me, Mrs bloke and the little blokelets used to live in army married quarters.  When vacating your quarter there was an inspection called a 'march out' by the 'estate warden' - usually an officious jobsworth wearing white gloves whose mission was was to discover and bill you for as much damage as possible.  As a result, there were all sorts of dodges and folklore shared around to cover up marks and damage.  The carpet shaving ruse is one I've used to good effect.

It backfires though when you 'march in' to a new place only to discover over the first few weeks, the bodges the previous occupant used to evade a damages bill.  In my case this included boot polish to cover marks in the oven and holes in the wall filled with toothpaste.  The best was when we first used a living room light and it started 'snowing' soon afterwards. Some enterprising wag had cracked a glass ceiling lamp shade and filled the cracks and a small hole with an icing sugar paste which melted when the bulb got hot! I was both annoyed and full of admiration!


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:37 pm
funkmasterp, Poopscoop, hot_fiat and 3 people reacted
Posts: 1119
Full Member
 

Got a dog? Blame it. 


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:41 pm
Posts: 9069
Free Member
 

Cover whole carpet in chain oil, so it doesn't stand out. 😉


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:42 pm
Posts: 9135
Full Member
 

Part and parcel of being a bike building cyclist I reckon. Goes with the territory.

.

I was trying to remove the oil seal out an old pair of bomber forks. Long screwdriver, knee behind the fork/screwdriver to brace it and the seal suddenly pops out, flies across the room and hits the cream coloured curtains,leaving a nice round oil stain thats been there ever since.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:50 pm
Poopscoop and Poopscoop reacted
Posts: 15068
Full Member
 

Is it a light colour carpet? if it's just one little spot, and you have some off cuts of the same carpet... a last resort could be to surgically cut out a square with a sturdy craft knife or similar where the spot is, and insert a plug cut from the spare bit, with a bit of glue on the underside.

Ruffle it up a bit once dry, and trim the pile down with some nail scissors if it stands out too much, so it blends in with the rest of the carpet.

But when you say

There is a reasonable about of chain marks on the house carpet.

It's not sounding very promising for that kind of botch...

Probably time to start planning

A) pricing up new carpets

B) exit strategy


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 9:58 pm
Posts: 16216
Full Member
 

Some enterprising wag had cracked a glass ceiling lamp shade and filled the cracks and a small hole with an icing sugar paste which melted when the bulb got hot! I was both annoyed and full of admiration!

That's devious, I love it. 😁


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 10:03 pm
Posts: 15068
Full Member
 

Part and parcel of being a bike building cyclist I reckon. Goes with the territory.

Not really... don't work on dirty/greasy parts inside the house unless it's in a utility room/kitchen.

These are principles which every man of every faith can embrace.

These are not polite suggestions. These are codes of behavior, and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost.

There are varying degrees of evil. We urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption.


 
Posted : 29/11/2023 10:10 pm
Posts: 33325
Full Member
 

I’d definitely go with the WD40/isopropanol/liquid soap, or even just IPA/soap, which has worked on greasy marks on tee shirts before now, and then a proper clean with the next batch of washing. Not that the carpet would go in the washing machine, of course… 😁


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 2:34 am
Posts: 4643
Full Member
 

Before rendering the carpet squeak proof with WD40 I’d try baby wipes. Whatever the smeg they put in them will happily remove motorcycle chain oil from all sorts of places.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 3:03 am
Posts: 77347
Free Member
 

filled the cracks and a small hole with an icing sugar paste

How did you discover what it was? "Oh, that's weird... I wonder what it tastes like?"

baby wipes. Whatever the smeg they put in them will happily remove motorcycle chain oil from all sorts of places.

Dude, what the hell are you doing with your baby?


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 3:10 am
Posts: 13554
Free Member
 

Got a rug you can cover it with? Or move the furniture about?

This is the correct answer and the solution to any stain related issues.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 6:05 am
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

Is anyone else concerned that there's been no word from @Killer since he first posted? Will he be discovered strangled with a bike chain lying in a pool of baby oil and WD-40? 


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:26 am
Poopscoop and Poopscoop reacted
Posts: 32265
Full Member
 

Firstly it would be best to avoid placing any blame on what has occurred. lets just say we don’t know how or why it happened and we will all move on to find the best strategy moving forward.

You are Matt Hancocks script writer and I claim my five pounds!


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:28 am
blokeuptheroad, lb77, Poopscoop and 3 people reacted
Posts: 16025
Free Member
 

Elbow Grease got chain oil marks off my car seats.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:34 am
Posts: 13240
Free Member
 

Will he be discovered strangled with a bike chain lying in a pool of baby oil and WD-40? 

Thanks,I was struggling on the intro to my first novel. 😆


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:35 am
blokeuptheroad, Poopscoop, blokeuptheroad and 1 people reacted
Posts: 6071
Free Member
 

The correct answer is moths.

Open the microwave door in a darkened kitchen to entice them in. Hack the stain out and the evidence for the defence m'lud is already remanded in custody.

Be ready with a Darwinian theory for the evolution of moths that eat polypropylene. Simples


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:41 am
 mert
Posts: 3831
Free Member
 

WD40 can stain (very) light carpets.
But what sort of lunatic has carpets that light coloured! (My step mum, that's who.)

Brake cleaner is the stain remover of choice in my place, roof liners, carpets, clothes, i even used it to de-creosote the arm of a jumper that got covered. (The washing machine *might* have managed, but i didn't want a creosotey jumper in there!)

Kitchen towel or a clean rag can be pressed into service to blot/wipe up the worst of it once the brake cleaner is working it's magic.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:43 am
Posts: 45504
Free Member
 

The real question is if this is a double negative post and @Killer is actually the [s]victims[/s] forum members other half....

Baby oil has worked for me in the past.

That's a slippery slope into some double entendres and gags we just don't need around here.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:43 am
Posts: 1114
Full Member
 

Suggest a European look and remove carpet and tile?

much easier to clean


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 7:48 am
Posts: 6257
Full Member
 

1. Get a glass and a sharp knife, e.g. Stanley knife.
2. Move a piece of furniture to expose fresh carpet.
3. Place rim of glass on fresh carpet and cut out a circle.
4. Do the same over the oil mark.
5. Swap the circles and move the furniture back
6. Have a nice glass of red wine to celebrate.


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 8:13 am
willard and willard reacted
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

^^

There is a reasonable about of chain marks on the house carpet

Place rim of glass bin lid on fresh carpet and cut out a circle.

FIFY


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 8:27 am
Posts: 45504
Free Member
 

Suggest a European look

?


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 8:30 am
Posts: 103
Full Member
 

I’ve done that too, cream carpet… rug doctor got it out, liquid biological washing detergent 😊

good luck!


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 1:04 pm
 StuF
Posts: 2068
Free Member
 

Fairy liquid massaged into the offending area and then put in the washing machine works well for removing oil / chain gunk from clothes. So just do the same with the carpet?


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 1:20 pm
Posts: 45504
Free Member
 

Fairy liquid massaged into the offending area

Baby oil now fairy liquid? filthy.

Where is the OP?


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 3:44 pm
Poopscoop and Poopscoop reacted
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

None of the above, biological washing powder mixed into a slurry and spread over the affected area, leave it for a couple of days, it will set but can be easily cleaned up with water.

Also works on oil stained driveways.

Bioremediation matters


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 6:22 pm
Posts: 3636
Free Member
 

I was trying to remove the oil seal out an old pair of bomber forks. Long screwdriver, knee behind the fork/screwdriver to brace it and the seal suddenly pops out, flies across the room and hits the cream coloured curtains,leaving a nice round oil stain thats been there ever since.

So you're saying you were...pwned by Bombers?


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 6:44 pm
oldnpastit, tall_martin, oldnpastit and 1 people reacted
Posts: 142
Free Member
 

I was about to recommend laundry liquid. You have to be careful with powder as the destainer might bleach the carpet where applied.

Really anything with a bit of  alkalinity in it, e.g kitchen degreaser, will saponify the oil and get it out of the carpet.

Just be careful if using any solvents as these may affect the backing of the carpet


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 10:37 pm
Posts: 1759
Full Member
 

Prevention is always better than cure.

Either tile the floor, or get a Gates belt drive bike 👍


 
Posted : 30/11/2023 10:47 pm
Posts: 16216
Full Member
 

I think we have to come to terms with the fact that the op will never get to read this.

He shall be remembered and we can only but hope bikerists everywhere learn from this sobering lesson. 🫡

Happy trails friend, happy trails.

I'm guessing on the ladies forum there is a new member asking for advice on how to invest some inheritance she's soon to come into? Unfortunately we will never know.


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 3:34 am
blokeuptheroad, funkmasterp, oldnpastit and 3 people reacted
Posts: 7086
Full Member
 

6. Have a nice glass of red wine to celebrate.

Outside. Definitely outside.

Why is everyone assuming @Killer is male?


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 3:52 am
Posts: 15907
Free Member
 

GT85 far better than WD40 and smells nice too

Dont rub it in though, spray it on and then absorbent kitchen crime etc dabbed on top, if your rub you just push it deeper in to the carpet


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 6:32 am
Posts: 2495
Free Member
 

I’m aware that you can remove candle wax from carpets by placing a tea towel on the wax and then carefully go over it with a clothes iron on a low heat.

Maybe try the towel and clothes iron once you’ve got the worst of the oil out?

A hair dryer might work too. Kind of heat and capillary action…

Or, with a spare piece of carpet, add the oil, then drizzle some candle wax onto it and see if any of the above techniques work.


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 7:45 am
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

I note the OP posted on the Shane McGowan thread yesterday, sometime after this thread started. Maybe worries of their demise are premature?

Maybe he/she is not in A&E having a can of chain lube surgically removed? Or drowned in a bath full of fairy liquid and baby oil?

OP if you can read this, but are zip tied to the garage workbench, we are here for you. If you are being prevented from replying on this thread, try to send a sign of life on another thread. Can anyone think of a code they can use?


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 9:20 am
Posts: 305
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Thanks for all the tips everyone.

I am still alive, but working secretively in the shadows.  waiting till the rest of the house is out then fetching out the cleaning supplies.  we're making good progress on the offending marks, but still not out of the woods yet.

I've yet to resort to baby oil though.  Might keep some on the bed-side table just in case though.  That won't arouse suspicions right?


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 10:19 am
blokeuptheroad, GRAEMEJONES, GRAEMEJONES and 1 people reacted
Posts: 45504
Free Member
 

I’ve yet to resort to baby oil though. Might keep some on the bed-side table just in case though. That won’t arouse suspicions right?

Are we saying that baby oil is the matrimonial version of 'Look, an Otter!'?


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 10:23 am
Posts: 2459
Free Member
 

Eucalyptus oil.

Put it on a cloth and dab the stain.

Advice given to me by bloke who installed carpet and it works like magic.


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 12:55 pm
Posts: 5354
Full Member
 

I'm thinking that even if the stain is gone, the combined aroma of GT-85, WD-40, eucalyptus oil, IPA, baby oil and brake cleaner might arouse suspicions? That or the house will be flattened when the OPs OH lights a candle to get rid of the pong and ignites the cocktail of volatile organic compounds.


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 1:27 pm
Posts: 1986
 

That or the house will be flattened when the OPs OH lights a candle to get rid of the pong and ignites the cocktail of volatile organic compounds.

Nearly spat my tea out at that. Thanks... 🙂


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 2:05 pm
Posts: 5153
Free Member
 

 the house will be flattened when the OPs OH lights a candle to get rid of the pong and ignites the cocktail of volatile organic compounds.

This was the solution to OPs problem all along. Set OH up to destroy the house, shrug shoulders, "What stain darling?"


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 2:09 pm
Posts: 13164
Full Member
 

What bike(s) are we going to be getting from Mrs Killer for the cheap cost that he told her they were?


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 2:21 pm
Posts: 305
Free Member
Topic starter
 

What bike(s) are we going to be getting from Mrs Killer for the cheap cost that he told her they were?

There will be others along very soon to state that the bikes are not worth anything, certianly not worth the potential blood stain on the carpet and associated cleaning fees


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 2:46 pm
Posts: 3636
Free Member
 

Gordon's OP is alive!


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 4:10 pm
Posts: 13617
Full Member
 

When I first got a Turbo Trainer I set it up in the spare room.

Popped the bike on, did a 30 minute session. Got off to see a nice streak of oil on the pale coloured carpet. Never even thought about oil being thrown from my freshly oiled chain! 🙂

The stain never did come out!


 
Posted : 01/12/2023 4:21 pm

6 DAYS LEFT
We are currently at 95% of our target!