Bike cleaning in a tight flat?

rogsmer

Hello all!
I've spent all evening reading articles but struggling to find incredibly helpful advice; I've moved into a flat with my best friend (now live-in-landlord) and trying to fit my bikes in with the least mess/worries for my housemate.

Does anyone have any mindblowing advice on keeping bikes clean but also conveying it to a housemate that they're clean and not dirtying the place?
It's had new carpets and flooring put in, and the garden has decking on it which I'm not sure has good drainage.

Is the shower the best place to clean?
Are there any cleaning products you'd recommend that won't damage decking/the bathroom?
Does anyone have tips or tricks bringing a road bike through a house if it's been raining etc.?

The bike gathered a bit of muck riding over Christmas which I didn't have time during the move to clean off, so I'll be wiping it down before cleaning in the shower, but any tips or even advice to alleviate my housemate's worries would be greatly appreciated.

webboo

Why can’t you clean it outside.

darkhairedlord

Take it to the car wash.

rogsmer

I'm not entirely comfortable showing it off to the entire street, but maybe a bucket and a quick wipe down is worth a try!

I'm guessing with a car wash just not to spray into the wheel bearings? Any other parts to avoid hitting?

pblakeney

Bucket, soapy water, sponge, outside but not on the decking.
There is no practical alternative.

pangolin

Yep outside. Free water at a nearby petrol station any use? Take a bottle of muc off and a sponge.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

"Velo sock" to get dirty/wet bike indoors.

david37

rogsmer said:

I'm not entirely comfortable showing it off to the entire street, but maybe a bucket and a quick wipe down is worth a try!

I'm guessing with a car wash just not to spray into the wheel bearings? Any other parts to avoid hitting?

this is the best post in weeks

navrig2

Strip it down and put the components in the dishwasher. Simples.

mrb123

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/mobile/mobi-v-17-portable-bike-pressure-washer/rp-prod46653

(For use outside the flat, not inside)

MattFalle

rogsmer said:

I'm not entirely comfortable showing it off to the entire street, but maybe a bucket and a quick wipe down is worth a try!

why? what is it? is the area really that bad?

photonic69

Babywipes?

elbowloh

photonic69 said:

Babywipes?

Yes honey?

rogsmer

It's one of those places where mopeds speed off with people's phones and the road's had a couple of burglaries in the last month.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a try and put them to my housemate.
Very intrigued by the velosock so will give them a look!

MattFalle

Get one of these long enough and wide enough for bike. Should take 10 mins looking on Amazon.

Get stand for bike - £15 off Merlin

Use on decking and scrub to heart's content

Pour dirty water down drain

pop container up somewhere out of the way when not in use

Also use when tinkering on bike.

sorted

MattFalle

there you go

MattFalle

If you want to be flash, MF would drill a hole in the corner of the tub and stick a rubber bung in so you can drain the soiled water into a container (say 5 litre old windscreen washer bottle) for easy trebucheting into next door's garden.

#flingit

50x11

Don;t clean it in the flat, you'll make a mess and get crud and grease everywhere. Go to local petrol station, use power washer and drip dry on way home, then dry and lube. Spoken as someone who's lived in flats for a long time.

darkhairedlord

MattFalle said:

there you go

thats not the "heavy hanger" im used to.

darkhairedlord

rogsmer said:

It's one of those places where mopeds speed off with people's phones and the road's had a couple of burglaries in the last month.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a try and put them to my housemate.
Very intrigued by the velosock so will give them a look!

either move home, or get a folding bike and pop it in the dish-washer.

MattFalle

darkhairedlord said:

rogsmer said:

It's one of those places where mopeds speed off with people's phones and the road's had a couple of burglaries in the last month.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a try and put them to my housemate.
Very intrigued by the velosock so will give them a look!

either move home, or get a folding bike and pop it in the dish-washer.

MF is with DHL here - it does sound a bit of a dump.

#getouttaDodgeCity

Charlie_Croker

Find a neighbour with a shed you can use

pblakeney

Get a girlfriend/boyfriend with property.
Move in with new friend. 😉

david37

get a job in the public sector, buy house, take 6 weeks off sick a year to ride.

get promoted regularly and take more time off sick to train.

retire at 50 with massive pension

paulbnix

rogsmer said:

Hello all!
Is the shower the best place to clean?

I get into enough trouble cleaning me off in the shower after a winter ride.

elbowloh

david37 said:

get a job in the public sector, buy house, take 6 weeks off sick a year to ride.

get promoted regularly and take more time off sick to train.

retire at 50 with massive pension

Better yet, become a head teacher, it's a doddle.

MattFalle

Join the Air Force. Stay in 5* hotels, get paid to ride your bike and move out of the horrendous drug dealer ghetto squalor you currently live in.

#advice

danx

david37 said:

get a job in the public sector, buy house, take 6 weeks off sick a year to ride.

get promoted regularly and take more time off sick to train.

retire at 50 with massive pension

Ah... that old chestnut...

Standard pension age in the NHS is currently 67 with 5% penalty for each year of early retirement. Below inflation pay rises over the last 10 years - certainly well below house inflation even in the poorer part of the country (ie not London area) where I live.

Promotion is either waiting years for someone to retire and compete with your colleagues (which admittedly usually ends up with who has been 'waiting' longest or who the next boss up likes to hang out with most rather than merit) or leaving the public sector if you haven't been there long enough for your CV to be tarnished by it.

Take 6 weeks off sick and you will be performance managed.

Maybe it was true 20 years ago on the generous old final salary pension scheme (retirement age 60). When I first started there was indeed several cases of people getting suddenly promoted 6 months before retiring but that scheme was replaced by a far less generous scheme in 2008 and in 2015 anyone under 45 at the time got forcibly transferred off to another scheme which is worse again (probably still better than most schemes but no longer by enough to justify accepting a lower salary than the same job in the private sector).

Anyway, back on topic:

Velosock or diy similar for carrying through the flat, plastic sheet with drain holes in bottom of the bath for cleaning works for me.

elbowloh

Wife's cousin is in private sector. They get this long leave perk, where if you've been there 10 years, as a special one-off, she gets to take 6 months off, paid!

lakesluddite

To be honest OP, if someone clocks your bike whilst washing it outside, they're just as likely to see it when you're setting off and coming home on it. Perhaps take it outside, then clean it a few doors away, therefore it looks like you live there!
Oh, and get it insured.

navrig2

elbowloh said:

Wife's cousin is in private sector. They get this long leave perk, where if you've been there 10 years, as a special one-off, she gets to take 6 months off, paid!

You make this sound as if everyone who isn't in the public sector gets 6 months off. That's tosh.

I am "private sector" and have been since 1989 and I don't know anyone who gets that "perk". At ten years service I got an extra 5 days added to my 20 day annual leave allowance. Typically my employer was generous.