I'm cheap.... but is this being a little too cheap??

[nathan89]

I'm sure you guys get sick of paying close to $10 per can of Air Filter cleaner too, right?! I am. I have tried using cheaper brands, different kinds of soaps, non-aersosol cleaners, etc. but none of them seem to work as well as a good old aerosol can of Maxima Air Filter Cleaner. Gasoline works great, but after a few times using it, the air filter is junk.

I was at my local bike shop yesterday and saw a can of BelRay Air Filter Cleaner / Engine Degreaser. (Here's a link) http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/2931/31363/Bel-Ray-Foam-Air-Filter-Cleaner-%26-Degreaser

This made me think... How would a regular, good old can of engine degreaser work for cleaning air filters?! Walmart SuperTech Engine Degreaser sure has an attractive price tag of $1.79 for an 18oz can. The Maxima Air Filter Cleaner I am currently using runs me $9.95 before tax for a 15.5oz can.

What do you guys think? Anybody tried it? Good or bad experience?

[Jerry Hall]

For K&Ns wet the filter, spray it with 409 concentrate, wait for a few minutes and rinse.  I have been told K&N cleaner is 409

[Burns363R]

I use gasoline for my air filters

[2ndmoto]

I have used simple green on my K&N filters with good success. Have not tried it on form filters.

Give the degreaser a try and let us know how it works.

Best regards
-Jason

[croat1]

I prefer to use air filter cleaner but I have had good luck using liquid dish soap (on foam filters).

Joe

[atv fan 28]

Just go to the Dollar Store and buy Totally Awesome... works on everything!

[jadleybray]

Not sure bout those two, but I use the S outta that brand carb cleaner.  Used to buy it at Walmart for 99. a can, almost double that now.

[mennis1971]

I haven't tried Totally Awesome on a filter, but it does work great on everything else I've tried it on. Had caked on dirt that didn't wanna come of my cr500 motor, but had to clean it before putting it together. TA worked great, along with a toothbrush and hose.

IDK abt brake cleaner(seems a little to strong) for air filters, but gas, wax and grease remover(for painting cars) and a few other things work good.

[JesseA420]

dawn dish soap! never knew it was more complicated than that.
also here is a bunch of other stuff it works good for, including yeast infections!
http://www.wackyuses.com/dawn.html

[Tbone07]

Gasoline works awesome. But I noticed that after 2 cleanings that the foam really started to degrade. So much so that I didn't feel like it was safe to reuse the filter, this was with a UNI. Maybe with a different type of foam they would hold up better.

I switched to gasoline but I might switch back to Dawn dish soap

[broken1]

For K&Ns wet the filter, spray it with 409 concentrate, wait for a few minutes and rinse.  I have been told K&N cleaner is 409

I was told this as well a long time ago & have been using it ever since. It works great. For dirty engines I used simple green straight & it didn't work very well so I tried some purple power from o'riley's & it works a lot better than simple green, plus it was only $5 for a gallon of concentrate. I use it straight with a toothbrush & garden hose like mennis1971 said.

[Burns363R]

Hmmm im using the same filters for the past 2 years using gasoline.  Oh and i do mine after every race... Oh well.  lol

[Rupp250]

Purple Power for the win. Just don't get it on aluminum.

[Piney0]

It's not engine degreaser, but I use mineral spirits.  I have a small container that I reuse just for cleaning foam air filters.  That being said, I try to clean 2 or 3 air filters at a time too cause it's not my favorite thing to do.

[nathan89]

Not trying to be a dick here guys LOL but can we try and keep this on topic please? Just about engine degreaser on foam filters. Thanks!