Over time, all engines get messy eventually, which is where engine cleaners come in handy. Having to work in messy conditions will often cause an engine to not only look messy itself but to underperform if left uncleaned for too long. With a good engine cleaner/degreaser, you can increase an engine’s life by quite a lot, not to mention how much of an improvement you can make from an aesthetic point of view. That said, let us find out what are the ten best engine cleaners out there and what makes them stand out in the first place.
Best Engine Cleaners – Top List
SuperClean 101724 Cleaner Degreaser
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The 101724 SuperClean degreaser is an efficient product that not only dissolves grease but also subsequently gets rid of wax, tar, oil among others with utmost swiftness. What’s more, besides being user convenient, the SuperClean cleaner is relatively safe considering that it is free of toxic materials since its underlying elements are both phosphate-free and biodegradable materials.
DuPoint Degreaser (Motorcycle) Sprockets and Chain
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DuPont is a degreaser mainly designed to suit motorcycle engines with ease and speed in the simplest of processes. It only needs for you to spray then wipe and all is all! And while this degreaser is quite an exceptionally efficient product, it is also quite safe since it features a biodegradable material composition. For this reason, it should definitely be considered by anyone who is conscious about the environment while still wanting to give their engines a nice scrub.
Simple Green Crystal Degreaser/Cleaner (19128)
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Although it comes with no scent, the Crystal 19128 cleaner is amazingly reliable and therefore well suited to clean off even the toughest of stains. Why? It is not only a cleaner but also a degreaser. Simple Green is also exceptional in cleaning standard engine parts and besides being non-toxic and non-hazardous, this degreaser is also made using biodegradable ingredients, a composition that doesn’t make it any less efficient, quite the contrary.
12005L Total Cycle S100 Cleaner Bottle
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Maintaining an engine is not the easiest thing especially when you have to deal with grease stains. Nonetheless, with an efficient degreaser, it makes it nothing but light work-which is exactly what you get with the S100 12005L cleaner. It works on numerous surfaces including truck, car and motorcycle engines not to mention industrial engines. What’s more, it also maintains safety standards since it also works on chrome, rubber, plastic, alloy surfaces and paints among others.
Meguiar Super Degreaser (D10801)
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The Meguiar Degreaser is a super degreaser as the name suggests. Aside from its fast-acting capacity, it also works efficiently well on the toughest of stains. What is the most outstanding aspect of this product is that it leaves no particular residue behind. Moreover, it is easy to use since it only requires for spraying and subsequent wiping off, and also, the D10801 comes with a pleasant fragrance that exudes right after a clean-up.
Industrial-grade Purple Power Degreaser and Cleaner (4320P)
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Purple Power is an ideal and reliable choice for a variety of individuals, particularly for its dual cleaning and degreasing ability. Aside from standard oil and grease stains, this product also eradicates various other stains including the adamant ones. Purple Power is designed to work on virtually any surface on automobiles with its application spread across various areas including sea, homes, and farms. Lastly, even with its industrial power, it is neither flammable, abrasive nor made with phosphates.
Simple Green Pro HD 13421 Heavy-Duty Cleaner
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The 13421 Simple Green cleaner is a professional-grade cleaner designed to clean up and de-grease both automobiles and engines efficiently. What’s more, it can also find use in bathrooms and kitchens across the home. This product is safe for typical metal and as such does not corrode the engine when it is removing the stains and is also quite good on tough grimes. Furthermore, it is entirely non-toxic as far as its ingredients go, making it safer and easier to use.
AOD1G35437 Oil Eater Degreaser/Cleaner
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The Oil Eater Degreaser is a cleaner designed to eliminate all sorts of grease on any surface, substance or engine. Surprisingly, even with its exceptional cleaning strength, it is reasonably safe. Also, it contains no petroleum solvents, acids or abrasives since it is water-based. The AOD1G35437 is USDA approved and despite not being appropriate for surfaces used in food preparation surfaces. What’s more, aside from engines, it can find use in cleaning floors, exhaust hoods, tools and other items which contain any oil stains or grease.
Heavy-Duty 26832 Spray Nine Degreaser
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The 26832 Spray Nine is the definition of a versatile engine cleaner. Not only can it clean and subsequently remove stains, but it can also eradicate mildew, mold. Deodorize, degrease and disinfect. The Spray Nine is designed to provide an accelerated and improves cleaning experience. At the same time, aside from engines, it also can be used in cleaning items such as sinks, concrete, tires, tools, and numerous other objects and surfaces.
Krud Kutter (KK32) Degreaser/Cleaner
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Krud Kutter KK32 will help you eradicate grease from virtually anything running from exhaust fans, engines, BBQ grills, ovens and such. This degreaser slash cleaner is versatile since it works well on numerous surfaces including fabric and is also both safe and heavy-duty. The KK32 is made from a non-toxic, water-based, xylene-free, non-flammable and biodegradable substance which is not only safe but also exceptionally powerful.
Reasons For Using An Engine Cleaner
It would perhaps be best if we defined what an engine cleaner/degreaser is before delving into why you might need it. This is basically a fluid consisting of chemicals intended to rid the engine of oil and grease. Without a doubt, these are the hardest substances to clean from an engine, which might explain why many of these substances can mostly be used for one purpose alone. Along with cleaning an engine, many of these substances can also clean the engine in the traditional sense.
With that out of the way, let us try to figure out how you might make good use of such a cleaner. First of all, let us say that a clean engine will always perform better than a dirty one, be that in terms of grease, oil, or simply by removing dirt. Furthermore, with an engine degreaser, you will also find out if your engine has an oil leak. Detecting such a flaw early on can save you thousands of dollars in repairs in the long run.
Another thing to keep in mind is that cleaning your engine regularly can prevent a series of mechanical problems that tend to arise otherwise. It is advised that you use an engine cleaner as soon as you notice petroleum or dust on your engine, or at least clean your engine on a regular basis to prevent that. Given how effective such products are, you don’t really need to know a lot about cars or engines to use them.
Types Of Engine Cleaners
While they all meet pretty much the same standards, they do tend to differ when it comes to how you use them and how often. These engine cleaners can also act as degreasers, for example, a feature many people actually look for when buying one. Along with size and ingredients, you should also judge an engine cleaner based on how efficient it is, and this can only be done after you’ve taken the time to learn about each type of engine cleaner and what they do.
Metal Solvent Cleaners – Like the name suggests, metal solvent cleaners are normally used in machinery and vehicles that involve bearings, joints, and motors. As such, these cleaners are quite effective at removing grease from these components.
Petroleum-based Cleaners – These cleaners contain distillates and ethanol, a composition formulated to not only remove grease but residues from gasoline, oil, and other lubricants as well.
Vapor Solvent Cleaners – We should point out that vapor solvent cleaners are somewhat different from other cleaners in the sense that they act in the form of vapors after being heated up in a peculiar fashion.
Foam Cleaners – You normally use foam degreasers on electrical appliances and car engines. The main thing to remember about foam degreasers is that they have to be wiped off the components being degreased without using any water.
Ultrasonic Cleaners – These cleaners employ so-called ultrasonic waves to remove residues and grease from engine parts. Because of this, you will find ultrasonic cleaners/degreasers to be quite rare and often a bit more expensive.
Environmentally Friendly Cleaners – Formulated using baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, soap, and a variety of other natural ingredients, these cleaners will not only clean your engine efficiently but they will do so while posing no chemical threat to the environment when discharged.
What To Look For In An Engine Cleaner
While you can tell which engine cleaner is top-notch based on brand alone. When you are buying from a well-known seller, you should have no problems asking more about each brand and how to best use them. These are the way you can judge an engine cleaner:
Contents – One way to judge is when buying an engine cleaner what ingredients are used to make it. All these products should not contain any hazardous or toxic chemicals for your engine.
Odor – Consider the unpleasant odor your car gives off while driving. Also, keep in mind that some low-end engine cleaners can even cause vapors that are harmful to inhale.
Residues – Also, consider not using any engine cleaners that leave dirt traces behind. Choose an engine cleaner that doesn’t leave any skids or spots either, or at least the type of places that can be cleaned afterward with a damp cloth.
Versatility – A good engine cleaner should also work on any type of surface, not only specific metals or alloys. In this respect, you want an engine cleaner that will not damage plastic, rubber, steel, or paint over time. As a matter of fact, you want an engine cleaner that also enables you to perform other cleaning tasks that aren’t at all related to engine cleaning.
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