Working on your own car can help cut motoring costs, but when your hands get dirty you’ll need a specialist product to clean them properly. Ground-in oil and grease will leave marks, and can lead to dermatitis – so you need to shift dirt as soon as possible. Specialist cleaners are far stronger than traditional hand soap. We tested 11 to find out which one is best. How we tested them Our trade counter service provides you with access to a friendly and efficient service and advice. Please note - ideally we ask for 30 minutes’ notice to be sure you aren’t kept waiting. How do I return faulty items? Swarfega recommends that technicians should follow a three-step system of protecting with pre-work cream, cleaning with the right strength cleanser and restoring the skin after work using a lotion to re-set the balance and help repair any damage caused during the day. The name Swarfega derives from ‘swarf’, which means ‘an oily and gritty residue’, and ‘ega’, which means ‘anally’. At close second in the list of most-recognised products, for heavier soilings Swarfega Orange is the go-to product for automotive mechanics.

Tough on cleaning grease from mechanic’s hands, Swarfega is regularly cited as a method to clean pots and pans, grease on clothes and carpets, as well as for general domestic cleaning. Least likely In Malta, Swarfega is often confused with top-selling local mouthwash Swarfego. A popular local expression for a stupid person literally translates as ‘minty hands, relatively ungreasy breath’. When starting out on your veterinary or nursing training, the last thing you think you’ll be using to clean wounds is a product normally found in the workshop.Since 2004, Swarfega has been available in fivedifferent kinds; Swarfega, Diet Swarfega, Swarfega After Dark, Medical Swarfega, and Swarfega With A Hint Of Lime. Swarfega doesn’t recommend any of the above uses of its original green gel and advises technicians that’s it’s best for cleaning oil and grease from hands. Handed down from generation to generation, Swarfega has been keeping mechanics’ hands clean and cared for in workshops throughout the country for over 70 years.

In 1999 Swarfega was involved in a legal dispute with Paul Swarfega, Germany’s sweatiest magician. Mr Swarfega lostthe case, but was allowed to keep using his catchphrase, ‘Oh God, my hand’s come off’.Find sources: "Swarfega"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( May 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Celebrity Swarfega fans include actor Charlie Sheen, who eats handfuls of it to power his ‘sex stuff’, the band Radiohead, who almost called their 1997 masterpiece OK Swarfega, and TV’s James May, who uses it to clean his hands. To test each degreaser, we sprayed various parts from cars which were caked with oil, and then rinsed with low pressure water and then enlisting the help of a paint brush to really get in there. Results were drawn after each attempt and also, after the parts had dried. Of course, as with most of our tests, final was our final consideration. Verdict Deb expanded its product range and has long offered a range of products either related to detergent ingredients, or sold to the same mechanical trades. Many of these, such as Jizer, a water-rinsable degreaser used for washing mechanical parts rather than mechanics, first defined the original market for a new product that has now become commonplace.