Hand cleaner has an expiration date

[Jimmy9190]

A few months ago I bought a container of Gojo hand cleaner with the fine Italian pumice in it. It cost 5 bucks at Ace hardware, but the pumice does help clean the grease off my hands a bit better. The hand cleaner liquefied in just a couple of months, but I kept using it until it got so bad it didn't really work well.

I had to throw away the small amount left in the container and this week I was at Carquest and I was looking at the Gojo cleaners there, a lot of the ones on the shelf were liquefied too. I finally looked on the bottom of the container and found that it had an expiration date! I never knew this about hand cleaners.

I kept looking till I found a container of the Carquest brand of hand cleaner, it was the correct consistency and according to its expiration date should be good until May 2013. It's a good cleaner too, it is made by Gojo and it works just as well as the Gojo with pumice and the Carquest brand was only $1.99 for about the same sized container as the Gojo brand.

Just an FYI. I know it may seem silly and trivial but it's best to check the expiration dates so you don't have to buy a hand cleaner that will be useless before its time.

 

[wallyuwl]

I've been using a bottle of Goop orange cleaner for 5-6 years. Don't use it often, still have about a quarter bottle left maybe. I shake it up before each use and it is just as good as the day I bought it.

 

[The_Eric]

If left unsealed (like the pump stopped working or was removed to get the last little bit out), I've seen them go rancid. One had black moldy looking stuff growing on it (not dirt) and the other just started really stinking.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: The_Eric
If left unsealed (like the pump stopped working or was removed to get the last little bit out), I've seen them go rancid. One had black moldy looking stuff growing on it (not dirt) and the other just started really stinking.


Yuck!

 

[mjoekingz28]

I got real disappointed in shop class when they changed over from Fast Orange to Gojo. None of the grit and none of that great citrus smell.

You can feel the clean with that stuff. Permatex makes it, so far Ive found all of their products to be spot on.

 

[eljefino]

I've got a 10 year old bottle of fast orange that's almost used up. I think in the proud tradition of honest soaps they use animal fats, hence the rancid-ness.

 

[Rick in PA]

Well, there's always Lava. We keep a bar at work, and come to think of it I should get a bar for home.

 

[Jimmy9190]

I can't use the Fast Orange cleaner. It dries my hands out real bad and in cold weather it even causes cracks in my skin that bleed. I must be allergic to it I guess.

I use liquid Lava hand soap when my hands are not dirty or greasy enough for Gojo. It works well but the dispenser can get clogged sometimes if I don't use it often enough. The only place I have found liquid Lava is at Ace Hardware.

The best hand cleaner I have ever used was Gojo Supra Max. They have it at a you-pull-it junkyard I go to sometimes. That stuff is thick like wet concrete and has some really good scrubbers in it. The Supra Max works so well you can work all day and it will clean your hands almost well enough to do surgery. I haven't found a place to buy it though, other than a large half gallon dispenser and container that you can order from Northern Tool.

Lemon Gojo works very well too. Napa used to sell it in the smaller container, but I have not seen it in the store now for a couple of years. For what I need though, the regular Gojo or the store brand Gojo cleaner I buy at Napa, Carquest, etc works fine.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
I've got a 10 year old bottle of fast orange that's almost used up. I think in the proud tradition of honest soaps they use animal fats, hence the rancid-ness.


Interesting. I never thought of that...

On a side note, my personal favorite is Permatex Ultra Cherry. Awesome cleaning abilities (just don't wet your hands first) and a pleasant scent.

 

[Kestas]

I never did like the smell of Fast Orange. It smelled too much like candy.

 

[MarkM66]

Nitrile gloves for me. Cleaning hands kills to much time.

 

[Trav]

Go to the commercial counter at AAP and ask if they have some Zep Cherry.They stock it here cost about $16 gallon,its the best out there and last for years without separation or going funny.

 

[GMBoy]

I still remember as a kid my dad using gasoline to clean his hands. Glad we're past that phase!

 

[Jeepster_nut]

I have heard from a few mechanics that -as gross as this may seem- a small amount of urine added to the bottle refreshens worn out pumice hand cleaner. Not ready to try it though...

 

[Trav]

I wont be trying that any time soon.

 

[rslifkin]

Normally, I just use dish soap. If my hands are really gross, I'll spray them lightly with a little WD-40, then wipe with a paper towel before washing. The WD-40 cuts any heavy grease, and what remains comes off fairly easily.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Normally, I just use dish soap. If my hands are really gross, I'll spray them lightly with a little WD-40, then wipe with a paper towel before washing. The WD-40 cuts any heavy grease, and what remains comes off fairly easily.


That's a good idea.

The other hand cleaners dry my skin and make them crack. I've found that it's easier to prevent hands getting dirty than trying to clean after the fact. So I now always wear latex gloves, sometimes a couple of layers if I think they may tear.

 

[mechanicx]

One thing is you always want to get the hand cleaner in the pump dispenser. The ones in the tub seems to liquify very quickly when you stick greasy hands in it.

 

[Mr Nice]

How about just using nitrile gloves and not having to mess with hand cleaners ?

 

[Jimmy9190]

I have nitrile gloves. I use those when I am waxing my truck, installing light bulbs and when working with gasoline or chemicals. I sometimes will use rubber gloves on other jobs, but they usually just get ripped up pretty easily, which is very aggravating. Plus in summer my hands sweat so much in rubber gloves it's just not worth the hassle. Gojo works well and does a good job of cleaning my hands. And it's cheap at $1.99 for the Napa or Carquest store brand container. One can will last me about 6 or 8 months.