My team has been having trouble coming up with a good solution to cleaning our vex wheels. We run into issues with dirt and hair making our intake less effective. Currently we use an air compressor and a damp paper towel to clean in between runs. We saw that Vex recommends deionized water, and are working on getting some of that. Does anyone have any other quick and easy solutions to cleaning the flex wheels.
Paper towel
Put water on paper towel
Run intake
Wet Paper Towel on Flex Wheels
quick and easy way to clean flex wheels
not the best way, but an easy way.
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Baby wipes work wonders for us
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This has been covered already in a similar thread.
Tap water is fine. Windex is fine. Isopropyl alcohol is fine (but flammable).
Items which leave residue (baby wipes) are NOT fine and a strict inspector/ref/etc (myself) would require you to reclean the wheels.
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My team used lint rollers. Works like a charm!
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Yes, if you use items that leave residue, make sure to wipe the flex wheels off with a rag or something because it is illegal, plus it decreases grip because it makes the wheels very slippery
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Yes isopropyl alcohol works amazing for us.
I would suggest you use an old toothbrush. That is what my team uses, and it works great.
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we have used
wet paper towels
clorox wipes (or something similar and are good at comps as long as the residue is removed)
air (mainly at the shop using its compressed air)
my team uses lint rollers. We turn on the robot and run the intake. While doing so, we lint-roll the entire thing. It works amazingly, especially in competitions.
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Our teams pack a box of disposable mini alcohol wipes. Available at any store that has a pharmacy. Usually sold in the first aid section. Run the motors with flex wheels, hold the wipe on the wheels.
I would not recommend alcohol. It dries out the flex wheels and reduces the grip. This happens over time, but it’s noticeable after a while, especially when comparing alcohol-cleaned flex wheels to new flex wheels
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The Vex library recommends some ways to clean flex wheels
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