Overheard a cashier at Ace Hardware tell an older guy that WD-40 isn't actually a lubricant and it blew my mind

She said it's mostly a solvent and water displacer, so using it on my squeaky garage door hinge was making things worse because it washes away real grease, and now I'm wondering how many other household 'fixes' I've been doing wrong for years has anyone else gotten bad advice from a product label?

2 comments

2 Comments

wood.noah5d ago

Yeah that tracks with what @kelly.parker said about it being a cleaner... I had a similar thing happen with my lawn mower last summer. I kept spraying the pull cord mechanism with WD-40 because it was sticking and it just got worse and worse until I took it apart and found all this gummy residue built up inside. Turns out I should have just used a dry lubricant like graphite powder instead. Makes me wonder how many other products are marketed as something they're not really meant for.

kelly.parker5d ago

Actually WD-40 does lubricate a little bit, but you're right that it's mostly just a cleaner and displacer.