How To Clean Your Bearings

So looking at today's weather, it's hot, humid, rainy, humid, nasty, and a little more humid. Needless to say, is sucks outside. Yay for Houston weather, right? Well with the rainfall we had earlier today, longboarding or skateboarding can actually be a bad idea! I told myself I would never say that, but it is necessary. All the water on the ground can hurt your bearings and cause them to go bad rather quickly. I would like to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone; so today we will make sure you know how to properly maintain your bearings.

Here are a few steps to avoid having your bearings to bad on you:
1) AVOID WATER!
Water is usually the number one reason that bearings go bad. They can destroy your bearings instantly. Lubricating your bearings with grease (I personally prefer White Lithium Grease) can help keep your bearings from getting damaged from water exposure but never think it will save them completely. Oiled bearnigs are not protected at all as oil only helps the bearings go faster, not stay cleaner.

2) IF YOU HEAR DIRT OR LOCK UP, STOP!
Dirt inside the bearings can damage the bearings physically, and trying to force a locked up bearing to rotate will cause similar damage and even possibly warp your bearing. You need to asses and clean your bearings always if either of these two situations comes up.

3) AVOID DAMAGING BEARING SEALS!
The only thing protecting your bearing from the outside world is that dirt seal. If warped or damaged it will allow dirt, water, and anything else to easily make its way inside your bearing and can cause serious damage. Good tips to avoid hurting this seal is to carefully remove it with a paperclip when cleaning your bearings and avoid pressing on it with your wrench when your screwing your wheels back on your board.

A few tips for when you are cleaning your bearings to help make your job easier!

• Never use water to clean your bearings. It will rust them over. Use a good solvent such as acetone or alcohol to clean them, and then a good grease such as white lithium grease to finish the job.
• You usually never need to take a bearing fully apart. Just taking the dirt shield off and keeping it "open" is about all you need to do.
• Ensure your bearings are placed on your wheels with dirt shield facing out. Duh.
• Clean your bearings regularly so you avoid the chance of ever having issues with them. Silverfish Longboards says about every 50 hours, I like to clean them once a week or maybe once every two weeks depending on how much I use the board.