How To Clean Your Skateboard Bearings With Household Items?

Enjoying with your new skateboard which you got as a surprise gift? That’s very good but keeping them clean is also crucial. You can certainly use items from the market but are you thinking how to clean skateboard bearings with household items?

Well, you are at the right place then as you can count on us for all the information related to cleaning of skateboard bearings with household items. Just sit back, relax and give this a read.

Before we start, how about getting familiar with what actually skateboard bearings are? Once you have a clear perception about them it will easy for you to handle. Let’s get started now.

What is skateboard bearings?

Bearings in a skateboard are ring-like structures which basically drives the wheels of your skateboard. A very critical element, as the rotating speed of your wheel, is determined by this. A skateboard has 8 bearings out of which each wheel have 2.

You must have realized by now how crucial are bearings for the smooth operation of your skateboard. So, without further delay let’s get straight into how to keep skateboard bearings clean.

You will soon be able to handle skateboard bearings and clean them on your own and you can trust me on that.

How to clean skateboard bearings with household items

Want to manage the cleaning process using your household items? Maybe now you are strolling in your house and thinking what can you use to clean skateboard bearings with.

Let me help your search by letting you know that it is possible to clean using some simple household things. Let me explain that for you.

Things you can use among your household items include -

• Acetone-based nail cuticle removers
• Petroleum jelly
• Silicone-based lubricants
• Baby Oil
• Light Motor oil

You can use any of the above items to grease the bearings of your skateboard. Acetone is also a very common item but you should not take the risk of using it without wearing gloves.

Now that we got an idea about the household items we can use for cleaning let us know the process.

Methods of How to Clean Skate Bearings

Don’t you think cleaning is fun if you do it for your favorite skateboard? Obviously, it is. It is very important to know the best way to clean skateboard bearings to do it without any hassle.

For your convenience let me brief the entire process into 3 very easy parts. Here we go now.

Remove the Bearings

Not having a bearing puller? No need to worry. Use a simple thick metal rod to get it done.

 Great job! Now that you have amputated the bearing it is cleaning time for them.

Clean the bearings

Grease & Reassemble

Fasten your skateboard wheels properly and please test them by spinning before going for a ride.

Why it is important to keep skateboard bearings clean regularly?

Now after all the humdrum about cleaning skateboard bearings, you must be wondering is it really so important to clean the bearings regularly? Yes, it indeed is very necessary.

It is always recommended by professional skaters to clean and lubricate the bearings after every use and the sole reason behind this is to increase the –

• Durability
• The time span of usage
• Speed

While you search for questions like how to clean skateboard wheels and bearings, you always drill for the best results. Since you now know about cleaning bearings, let me guide you on how to clean skateboard wheels?

The process is quite easy to master once you learn it. Follow the steps below to easily clean the wheels.

• Remove the wheel from your skateboard and brush off the dirt.
  
• Soak the wheels in a hot soap-water solution and then scrub them gently.
• Once they are thoroughly clean, dry them up before re-attaching.

Remember, you must separate the bearing from the wheels before you opt for cleaning them since bearing need to be cleaned separately.

Skateboard bearings cleaning kit

An assembled cleaning kit for your bearings will always make your job easy. The skateboard bearing cleaning kit must have the following.

• A container for washing
• Cleaning solution
• Bearing holder

This cleaning kit can also be used for cleaning long boards, penny boards and even inline skateboards.

How to clean skateboard bearings without lube?

Instead of lubricants, you can always use denatured alcohol, mineral spirits which are light in nature. There are a few easy steps to clean your skateboard bearings without lubricant.

Make your cleaning solution ready and soak the bearings for 3 minutes. To complete the process give it a good stir. Using a glass jar is always advisable since they are light in weight.

What can I use to lubricate skateboard bearings?

Lubes play a vital role in the swirl and movement of the wheels of a skateboard, so opting for a better choice is always preferred.

Sewing machine oils or other light machine oils can be used, although they evaporate quickly. Lithium grease will be a great choice if you skate a lot during the monsoons. You can obviously add some speed creams for better performance.

Do not opt for cheaper lubricants like WD-40.

A tip for you – You should lubricate your skateboard bearing only when they are completely dry.

What is the best lubricant for skateboard bearings?

For best performance, you need the best thing and in this case, the best lubricants are the ideal thing for your skateboard bearings. You must be eager to know some of the best in the market.

So, let us go through some of the best lubricant for skateboard bearings.

• Bones Speed Cream Skate bearing lubricant
• Liberty Triple Elite Oil for Skateboard Bearings
• Tri-Flow TF21010 Superior Lubricant
• Boca Bearings High-Speed Oil

Some of these are sometimes recommended by the professionals even.

Conclusion

When you have one of the best gifts – a skateboard, you should also care.

As they say in the Spiderman movie – “with great power comes great responsibilities”. You also need to be responsible and care for your board and a part of which are the bearings.

Now that you are sorted with answers to your question regarding how to clean skateboard bearings with household items, it is time for your make sure that you follow it and try cleaning it at least in the weekends if not after every use.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Can you use Vaseline as lube for bearings?

You may use Vaseline, but it is not recommended by professionals.

Q. Can you use isopropyl alcohol to clean bearings?

Yes, certainly you can use isopropyl alcohol to clean bearings.

Q. Can you clean skateboard bearings with hydrogen peroxide?

I am very sad to inform that hydrogen peroxide will not clean but only destroy your bearings.

Q. Can you clean bearings with vinegar?

Yes, you can but only white vinegar but not balsamic.

Q. Why are ball bearings used in skateboard wheels?

Ball bearings are used for decreasing the friction while the wheels rotate in the skateboard.