can dish soap really clean a bearing and if you can do just follow the same steps as when u use mineral spirits or lighter fluid?
Well, Dawn is advertised for getting rid of oil, after all, that’s the soap of choice for otter scrubbers and bird washers after oil spills. I also use Dawn exclusively when I clean my trumpet.
Personally, I am just going to stick with using mineral spirits when cleaning bearings. I just don’t really want to put that much water through a bearing to rinse out the soap. However, if all you’re doing is cleaning the bearing, rinsing thoroughly and drying, the odds of rust becoming an issue become very, very small since you’re removing what you used.
So, you CAN do this, but it’s not something I would do. See what others say. There’s people with more knowledge than I do regarding this topic and see what their views are.
1 Like
Rust takes prolonged exposure, so its not going too be a huge problem. But you do need to get that water out, just like studio said.
I actually don’t use anything but a little bit of thin lube when my bearings need maintenance. unless it is super packed with grease. even then I found just getting it out using string rather then a harsh solvent works best.
The solvents are for breaking down something like thick grease or maybe like silicone that got in the bearing.
So what I am saying here is find what works for you and go with it. 
I would sudgest not using soap because it tends to be thick which would be more of a lube not a cleaner. (minus dishes)