Question for current mechanics...

[Dr Luxurious]

I worked in shops in the 80s and 90s.
Changed flats allllllllll dayyyyy long. A new tube took 5 minutes / side easy.
No hydro anything (except early Rock Shox)
So now with tubeless what do you do about all that old sealant? The shop must be a friggin mess. Plus, with clean up, it takes way longer.
And what about all the hydo fluid? Again, gotta be A MESS! Isn't DOT fluid haz-mat?
So is wrenching just slimy, oily, hell now?

[benb]

Not working in a shop but:

- Sealant you can drain off the liquid
- Sealant leaves a tremendous solid mess in the tire
- Usually by the time I'm dealing with that I'm tossing the tire, though you can clean up some of the solid sealant mess with alcohol and paper towels
- Either DOT or mineral oil can be reclaimed into a jar easy-peasy.

I know you're not supposed to toss mineral oil but I've never actually disposed of it properly so I don't know who takes it. (We have 1 Mineral oil bike but I have let the LBS handle it)

DOT usually an auto parts store or a garage will take it for recycling IME no different than motor oil.

[catchourbreath]

Sealant- can be messy but not very often. You're removing any from customers bike (short of some issue with set up, etc)
Hydro Fluids- absolutely needs to be handled in proper container for disposal (only 1 shop I've worked in has that set up)
Overall can be a bit oily, sticky and gross on the days you have the trifecta of repair work.

[EB]

https://www.instagram.com/angrybikemechanic

[Hilltopperny]

As a part time mechanic in a shop I can answer as to how I do it. Excess sealant is removed via a syringe and recycled if still in its liquid form. This is extremely easy to do with zero mess.

Dot Brake fluid is only used by certain manufacturers and most brakes do not require flushing. They require bleeding which is handled by a syringe and there is little to no mess when done properly. This is also a very infrequent process.

Fwiw I still ride rim brakes on my road bike, but my gravel and MTBs have hydro disc brakes and they aren't very difficult to maintain once you figure out the ins and outs. If by chance you need to dispose of the old fluid then find a necessary receptacle to dispose of it like you would do with an automobile or recreational vehicle.

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[herb5998]

Sealant, as others have mentioned, syringes help, and we have catch buckets at each station, still can be messy, but depends on the setup/combo.

DOT and Mineral oil: we have large collection bottles we use, and once a month or two there is a recycler who picks them up.

Honestly the biggest mess is any bike during winter or just when winter ends, lots of parts to replace, oil/road salt, gunk, it gets everywhere. And installing/removing studded winter tires is fun for the hands (even with gloves).

[benb]

I think for me the biggest thing if any of the chemicals are harmful is the chain chemicals and cleaning the chain.

You're just exposed to it way way more often than hydro fluids.

It's like in order of how frequent you're exposed to it:

- Chain chemicals most often (could be more than once a month easy)
- Sealant less (2-3x a year)
- DOT/Mineral oil way way less cause you're talking once every year or two