How To Clean And Maintain Your Roller Skates
Whether you’ve got a long-distance skate for charity coming up or you just need to be super speedy for the weekend’s roller disco, keeping your roller skates in tip top condition is essential. That means knowing how to clean your roller skates and carry out basic roller skate maintenance to keep them looking good and working their best!
Not sure how to clean your roller skates? Simply follow these three easy steps! You need to tackle the wheels, bearings, and boots! Luckily roller skate maintenance is all made a lot easier with a little help from WD-40®!
Things you will need
Your Roller Skates
A Microfibre Cloth
Warm Soapy Water
Shoe Deodoriser or White Vinegar
Alcohol (optional)
Leather Polish (optional)
Step 1
How to Clean Roller Skate Wheels
The most important thing to remember when you start cleaning your roller skates is that you do not want any water to get into your bearings. The bearings are the small, circular pieces of metal inside the wheel that allow the wheels to roll freely. If water comes into contact with them, then they can rust and slow your ride.
For this reason, it’s best to take them out of the wheels before cleaning. Then place the wheels to soak in warm soapy water. For particularly greasy, grimy marks use WD-40® Multi-Use Product.
If you prefer not to remove the bearings, then you could wipe the entire wheel with WD-40 Multi-Use®. Spray the wheels and then wipe them clean with a clean microfibre cloth. For hard-to-reach areas, WD-40® Multi-Use Flexible Straw is perfect. Simply bend the straw to spray in the desired direction and the WD-40 Multi-Use ® will hit the target!
Step 2
How to Clean Wheel Bearings on Roller Skates & De-Rust Them
Should you be out in a rainstorm, roll through a puddle, or if by chance water does get into the bearings when you’re cleaning them and they start to rust, help is at hand!
As they are so important knowing how to clean the wheel bearings on your roller skates is vital. You don’t want rusty bearings messing with your skate session. First things first, you will need some kind of tool – like a paper clip or dental pick – to remove the bearings seals (little rubber circles that are inside the bearings). Once these have been removed, grab your WD-40® Multi-Use Product and give them a gentle rub.
The rubber seals should be easy to clean with a bit of alcohol and a clean microfibre cloth. However, if they are really dirty, you can also use the WD-40® Multi-Use Product on them. Make sure the seal is thoroughly dried before inserting back into the bearing.
Step 3
How to Clean the Roller Skate Boot
The best way to clean roller skate boots is to treat them like you would any shoe. If you have leather skates, use a leather cleaner and protection. A lot of faux leather and vegan-friendly skates can be cleaned with just soap and water. Don’t forget to take the laces out and let them soak too or put them in the washing machine for a pristine, sharp look!
If you’re prone to pongy feet, try a shoe deodorizer or make your own using white vinegar in a spray bottle – this works just as well, and acts as an agent preventing further smells.
How to Clean Roller Skate Wheels
So that’s the job done, roller skates maintained and cleaned, ready for the rink! With all the dirt, grime and rust rubbed away, it’s time for you to roll away.
If you enjoyed this blog, and would like to find out more ways WD-40® can help you with your daily tasks, why not check out more of our blogs on great WD-40® uses? You can learn skateboard maintenance tips, suitcase repair tips and much more!
The uses shown and described for WD-40 Multi-Use Product were provided to WD-40 Company by the users themselves. These uses haven’t been tested by WD-40 Company and do not constitute a recommendation of suggestion for use by WD-40 Company. Common sense should be exercised whenever using WD-40 Company products. Always follow the instructions and take heed of any warnings printed on the packaging.
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