Uses for WD-40,...You may not know...

[jim gatton]

During WWII there was a need for a product that could protect metal while making it easier to assemble and disassemble. Scientists went to work, but it wasn't until 1953 they came up with a solvent, Water Displacement Formula 40, soon to be known as WD-40. The company felt this was bad timing, market-wise, as the war, (including Korea), was basically over. Today WD-40 can be found in four of five American homes.

New uses came out of it's sales, and new one's are being found every day. These are some you may or may not be aware of. Feel free to add any you KNOW work.

*Remove crayon or lipstick from walls, carpet, wallpaper, shoes, toys, slate, tv screens, screen doors, and rock walls.

*Eases arthritis pain...just spray it on the joint that is affected.

*Cleans and protects chrome fixtures in batrooms and chrome parts on cars. (Note: also removes bumper stickers.)

*Removes grease, grime, and oil stains from clothes.

*Cleans, softens, and water-proofs leather products from baseball gloves to Western boots.

*Spray it on shovels, hoes, and other digging implements to keep mud and clay from sticking to them. It also works if sprayed under a cleaned power mower deck to keep grass from clogging it.

*Keeps wicker furniture and new shoes from squeaking.

*Cleans and protects copper pots and pans. (use on OUTSIDE only.)

*Removes gunk from plastic dish drainers and cleans mildew growth from outdoor fountains.

*Loosens burrs, thistles, and stickers from dogs fur and horses hair.

*Removes a stuck ring from a finger.

*Helps unkink and loosen tangled gold and silver chains.

*Keeps birds, (pigeons & such), from lighting or roosting where you don't want them. (They cannot tolerate the smell.)

*WD-40 is extremely flammable, and in a pinch can be used as a starter fluid in carburator fed motors.

*Removes marker from dry-erase boards. (simply spray on rag first and don't over do it.)



ODDEST USES:

Responding to inquiries from the Pike Anglers Committee of Great Britain, the British Environment Agency states that they do NOT recommend the use of WD-40 as fish bait.

When John Glenn circled the earth in 1962, his spacecraft, Friendship VII, was slathered in WD-40 from top to bottom. NASA engineers hoped it would reduce friction upon re-entry. No word of how that worked out!

A burgler in Medford, Oregon, broke into an apartment wielding a can of WD-40, demanded money, and sprayed the occupant. He then escaped with the man's wallet and car keys, but was swiftly apprehended. (He might've needed the lubricant,...considering where he was headed.)

[spin4lcord]

Originally Posted by jim gatton

*Eases arthritis pain...just spray it on the joint that is affected.

The rest of this thread is questionable because this one is in fact very harmful, not helpful.

[jim gatton]

Originally Posted by spin4lcord

The rest of this thread is questionable because this one is in fact very harmful, not helpful.

I did think about this, as I'd heard arguments pro and con in the past. A recent study says that people benefit even when they know they're taking a placebo for a malady, so I included it as I wasn't aware it was harmful. Please tell me how, as I know someone who uses this regularly. (No, it isn't ME!)

However, I find it a bit rash that you condemn or question the rest of the thread based on your finding or supposition on one entry. That's kinda' throwing the baby out with the bathwater, isn't it?

[mlehman]

WD-40's formula is a trade secret. The product is not patented in order to avoid completely disclosing its ingredients.[2] WD-40's main ingredients, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

* 50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits – primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients

The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:

* 60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
* 1-5%: Carbon dioxide

It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.

[jim gatton]

Originally Posted by mlehman

WD-40's formula is a trade secret. The product is not patented in order to avoid completely disclosing its ingredients.[2] WD-40's main ingredients, according to U.S. Material Safety Data Sheet information, are:

* 50%: Stoddard solvent (i.e., mineral spirits – primarily hexane, somewhat similar to kerosene)
* 25%: Liquefied petroleum gas (presumably as a propellant; carbon dioxide is now used instead to reduce WD-40's considerable flammability)
* 15+%: Mineral oil (light lubricating oil)
* 10-%: Inert ingredients

The German version of the mandatory EU safety sheet lists the following safety-relevant ingredients:

* 60-80%: Heavy Naphtha (petroleum product), hydrogen treated
* 1-5%: Carbon dioxide

It further lists flammability and effects to the human skin when repeatedly exposed to WD-40 as risks when using WD-40. Nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses should be used. Water is unsuitable for extinguishing burning WD-40.

I didn't know that and it wasn't in the article. Thanks for the information.

[ta192]

Safe or not, I'd like to know how the joint spraying thingie is supposed to work. Does this stuff penetrate human skin and make its way to the joint? That's a little scary if true...

[Big Mike]

I am a bit worried about inert ingredients. They are listed as ingredients in lots of things...

Where do they come from? What are they made of?

Are there inert mines somewhere?

What happens when we run out of inert ingredients?

Should we be worried about running out of inert ingredients?

[bgregs]

Really? I've never noticed a problem with WD-40 being on skin... I mean I'm not saying light fire to yourself when you've got it on you, and be careful with ANY chemicals on your skin, but I've never had problems...

[jim gatton]

Originally Posted by bgregs

Really? I've never noticed a problem with WD-40 being on skin... I mean I'm not saying light fire to yourself when you've got it on you, and be careful with ANY chemicals on your skin, but I've never had problems...

Me too neither, and I use it pretty often in my woodworking shop. Of course much of it winds up on my hands, and they are caloused a little, so it doesn't soak in. I like the smell of the 'new' stuff.

[jim gatton]

Originally Posted by Big Mike

I am a bit worried about inert ingredients. They are listed as ingredients in lots of things...

Where do they come from? What are they made of?

Are there inert mines somewhere?

What happens when we run out of inert ingredients?

Should we be worried about running out of inert ingredients?

You shoulda' started this in PMD? Hahaha. But yes, the inert divers, (bet you didn't know it came from the ocean), have practically given up on scooping the crap to the surface since their jobs were outsourced. (You get it from there.)

[sknight88]

We use it in Florida on FireAnt bites. Helps redeuce the pustule that forms and becomes permanant on many people! I do belive WD40 is a fish based product as well. Probaly why it works for fishing!

[spin4lcord]

Originally Posted by jim gatton

I did think about this, as I'd heard arguments pro and con in the past. A recent study says that people benefit even when they know they're taking a placebo for a malady, so I included it as I wasn't aware it was harmful. Please tell me how, as I know someone who uses this regularly. (No, it isn't ME!)

However, I find it a bit rash that you condemn or question the rest of the thread based on your finding or supposition on one entry. That's kinda' throwing the baby out with the bathwater, isn't it?

If the bathwater is bad then so is the baby jk. The rest of the thread is fine until proven guilty.

A look at the WD-40 MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) shows that the product contains petroleum distillates. Skin contact may cause drying of skin and/or irritation. According to the WD-40 MSDS, it is advised to wash with soap and water if you have contact with your skin.

Greater risks can come from prolonged exposure. According to the article, WD-40 for Arthritis? by Katherine Poehlmann, Ph.D., "To date, no credible scientific studies have shown any benefit from the use of WD-40 for arthritis. In fact, there may be cumulative harmful effects."

[AmVet]

Originally Posted by bgregs

Really? I've never noticed a problem with WD-40 being on skin... I mean I'm not saying light fire to yourself when you've got it on you, and be careful with ANY chemicals on your skin, but I've never had problems...

Continued exposure to petroleum products can lead to a very serious type of cancer. I don't remember the name of it, Renocarsogenin or something like that, but it attacks the liver. Normally, when symptoms start to show and it is found it is too late to do anything. People in the oil and gas industry are more likely to suffer this type of cancer. My mother-in-law's ex-husband was a pumper, roustabout, and roughneck. She developed this cancer, probably through continued handling of his clothes, but because she was having some other tests including an MRI, it was found in time. The continued contact with petroleum products will allow the cancer causing chemicals access to the blood stream which passes through the liver to be cleaned. The petro-carbons are then retained by the liver till it can dispose of them. While there, they start destroying the liver.

[AmVet]

Originally Posted by sknight88

We use it in Florida on FireAnt bites. Helps redeuce the pustule that forms and becomes permanant on many people! I do belive WD40 is a fish based product as well. Probaly why it works for fishing!

A salt rock will do the same with no chemicals. Just dip it in water and rub over the bite area. If no water is available, just use the salt rock. Salt rocks are also good for lower back pain. Place on the lower back and the body's own heat will activate it.

[AmVet]

As for lubricating metal products like bike chains, rifle bolts, padlocks, door locks, ect, use Break Free. A hundred times better and doesn't dry out like WD-40

[bgregs]

Originally Posted by AmVet

A salt rock will do the same with no chemicals. Just dip it in water and rub over the bite area. If no water is available, just use the salt rock. Salt rocks are also good for lower back pain. Place on the lower back and the body's own heat will activate it.

REALLY???? I gotta try that for the lower back pain!!