13 replies to this topic

[benok]

1. Looking for advice how to keep your
wheelchair tires clean right after coming from
some place and returning home.

Sometimes, when the rainy season comes, I
dirty the whole house because of my wet and
muddy tire tracks.

does anybody clean your tires for you?

2. How about inflating your tires with air when
you go flat? Compressors are too expensive and
manual types are too difficult. What do you do?
(questions for manual chair users)

[juls]

When I get home from the beach/bush or if it's raining, I get whoever is with me to hose my tires off and then dry them with a towell.

We do own an air compressor..my tires are still flat all the time though, as it's a mission to actually get anyone to pump them up for me.
Otherwise if I'm at the servo I'll get out and use thier air compressor

[benok]

sorry for thequestion juls?
do you get of the chair when you hose the tires?

[juls]

Hi benok,

No I stay in the chair. I keep the pressure of the water low..but not to low or it won't do anything, and spray it away from me. I never get wet...if someone else does it there is a risk you'll get sprayed!!

[Black Sox]

Dirty tyres? Drive through some puddles before going in. Don't have any carpet in the house either (dirty, dust-gathering stuff)

Maintain pressure? Solid tyres. End of discussion.

BS

[russ1]

I cheat and if I'm going out somewhere where I'll get particularly dirty tyres I take my other chair and then swap chairs as soon as I get in. I have been known to stop by the hose and run water onto my tyres and brush with a soft brush

I use a battery driven compressor for tyres - solid tyres are the devils work.

[RYAN68]

suppose you could just go find a piece of carpet and put it infront of the door, make it long enough so that your tires make at least a complete rotation to dry them off, or at least take most of the dirt off

I dont know, just a suggestion

We have a air compressor, so I dont have nothing to worry about, although it does fill em up really quick

[rkzenrage]

I have a brush with a handle in my garage & a little electric air pump. It was very inexpensive.

Edited by rkzenrage, 14 December 2006 - 05:48 AM.

[LadyPilot]

If Ive been out in the field and come back with particularly muddy tyres then I scrape off excess mud with my gloves, then I use a water brush and a bucket of water to rinse off the remainder of the mud.
If it's just a bit of surface dirt then I don't bother since Im in and out doors all day.
Going out in the car then I have a big towel to cover my clothes when I take the wheels off. I use baby wipes to clean the wheelchair frame and wheels.

As for keeping tyres inflated, I use a compressor which plugs into the cigarette lighter in the car.
To avoid punctures I have 'Slime' put in my tyres. This amazing stuff prevented my tyre deflating when a 1 1/2 mm Allen key penetrated the tyre and went out of the side wall. (got the photos to prove it)

[benok]

thanks for all the advice on keeping my wheelchair tires clean.

[gsp23]

Cleaning tires, I have a hose with a sprayer on it that I keep at my level and a brush that I can wash by myself from in my chair. I go places on my own frequently too and nobody around to help out. I also will sometimes use a second chair as well when I know that I will be getting really dirty and then have my boyfriend scrub it down when he gets home (if hes not with).

Pumping up tires, I bought a high pressure manual tire pump which is 100x easier to use than an average tire pump you buy in a department store. Got to a specialist bike shop and tell them you need a high pressure pump with a built in gage. It only takes 1-2 presses to fill up tires even when they are quite low. I have 2 couches next to each other (90 degrees at a corner) and I wedge the foot part of the tire pump under the corner of each and it stays put. Then I just lean my body weight onto the hand part of the pump.

[Tonyc5/6]

you can always scootchgaurd them.

[icarus_melt76]

Not sure of availability but there are tire covers similar to a woman's shower cap with waterproof material and elastic along both edges. They wrap around each wheel then you pull them off when you get home. Wash and drip dry in no time.

Got tired of pumping tires. I now use composite/tubeless tires. Couple of profiles to choose from.
Not harsh but not as free-rolling as pneumatic. No fear of glass, etc.

[girlracer]

here is a link to those tire covers...
click here!

I don't use them, but knew they existed!