At some point in your life you've likely seen the column "Hints from Heloise."  These "lifestyle" hints (now being penned by a second generation) are still one of the most widely syndicated newspaper columns.

But I wonder if Heloise ever answered this question, posted recently on the Women in Trucking Facebook group:

How do you get fifth wheel grease out of your clothes?

I thought I'd share some of the ideas, which should be of help to all truckers, not just women drivers:

  • Mean Green....spray on grease and add a little Tide to it. Scrub it in the spot lightly and launder.
  • Soak it in a bucket of warm water to loosen the stain then treat with Dawn on both sides of the fabric, rub in to the stain & let sit about 15 minutes. Put clean warm water in the bucket & let soak again. Repeat until stain is gone. If the stain is still lightly there use Fels Naptha Soap, rub into stain & launder. Fels Naptha is a great stain treater, it's a bar of soap found in the laundry aisle by the stain treaters.
  • Go to Dollar Tree and get a spray bottle of Awesome Cleaner...this stuff is great...you may need to scrub with a toothbrush
  • I dumped some baking soda into a dish, added enough vinegar to make a paste. Use a wet sponge and work the paste into the stain using a circular motion. Once you have worked that in, put some Dawn dish soap on the sponge and work that in. Launder.
  • Electrical contact spray....electricians use it in electronic boxes for corrosion. ...just spray it on.
  • Brake cleaner fluid
  • Dawn dish soap and sugar
  • Dawn, WD-40 and Goop

Plus a few suggestions to prevent getting greasy in the first place:

  • Use a 5th wheel puller
  • One of the reasons I always had a "grease " shirt handy to put on if messing with the truck ... especially if I was greasing it ... men's dept at Salvation Army ... Goodwill or yard sales
  • I saw an old Roadway driver wearing a shop apron to hook up.

And for those pessimists:

  • Drop box at Goodwill, LOL
  • Scissors...lol. They end up being rags
  • A credit card and a shopping spree. It's tax deductible.
About the author
Deborah Lockridge

Deborah Lockridge

Editor and Associate Publisher

Reporting on trucking since 1990, Deborah is known for her award-winning magazine editorials and in-depth features on diverse issues, from the driver shortage to maintenance to rapidly changing technology.

View Bio
0 Comments