They were totally covered in some kind of grease/oil. Smelt like engine oil and left black smears all over my hands after handling. What a nightmare trying to clean. I'm currently 3 days into cleaning!
I was just wondering if this is a common problem, if anyone can suggest what the oil/grease might be, and what people may have done to clean theirs.
This has been my approach:
- 1) Hand washed it all in laundry soap
2) boiled it in water for 2-3 hours. The water was greeny-brown when I tipped it out, so I decided to do a repeat 2-3 hour boil with clean water. The waste water was clear the second time round.
3) then boiled it in 35% heads for 2-3 hours. The waste liquid was cloudy and smelled a little like engine oil.
4) I still wasn't satisfied, so I boiled it all in sodium carbonate (washing soda) with a squirt of dish soap as a surfactant for 2-3 hours. I used 1kg Na2CO3 to 50l water. It looked and smelled ok after that, but to be sure, im going to;
5) pack the scrubbies in my column and do a vinegar run
6) followed by a high proof sac run.
CS
Side note - I tested them with a fairly strong magnet and they have a weak attraction. About the same attraction as my industry quality tri-clamps; so I am satisfied that they are SS.