Yahoo Autos Don't Work on Your Car Without Hand Cleaner
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Working on cars is a dirty job. Unless you’re working with a car that just rolled off the factory line, you’ll be dealing with dirt, road grime, salt, tar, grease, and all other sorts of contaminants. Even with gloves, you’re going to get your hands and arms dirty. That’s why you should always have hand cleaner by your side.
I wash my hands every time I work on one of my cars. Because I live in the northeast, every single one of my projects is caked in gross stuff, most of which ends up on my skin whenever I tackle a job. Leaving that gunk on your hands is uncomfortable and unhealthy. Plus, if you don’t wash it off, anything you touch will eventually be covered in it.
Gloves are a great way to reduce the need for hand cleaners, but if you’re constantly reaching into your engine bay or wheel wells, you’re going to get dirt on your forearms too, so having a strong cleaner nearby is key. Plus, if you use disposable gloves like I do, you’ll have to deal with rips and tears in the latex, allowing dirt to get onto your skin. It happens all the time to me, so I end up having to scrub my hands anyway.
If you have a sink in your work area—whether that’s your garage, driveway, or your own shop—great! Pick up a big 1-gallon jug of Permatex Fast Orange pumice lotion hand cleaner and plop it nearby. Having a hand pump makes it incredibly easy to dispense cleaner quickly, and even if you work on your car every day, this large container should last you a year, if not longer. If you need something a bit more compact, Permatex also offers a half-gallon bottle with a pump.
If your DIY career is a bit more mobile, I recommend scooping up a smaller 14-ounce bottle of Gojo’s Natural Orange hand cleaner. It fits in any toolbox and works great for scrubbing hands and forearms clean of gunk. (Your friendly Deputy Editor keeps a bottle in his glovebox, like bringing an umbrella in the hopes that it won't rain. - Ed.) In a pinch, you can even use this stuff without water—I’ve done it in the past with great success. This two-pack on Amazon comes with a pair of hand brushes for getting grease and tar out of tight places.
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