What exactly are "mineral oils"?

[ANAO]

A local racer recently recommended I use mineral oils to clean my chain and cassette. I took off the chain, soaked 2 paper towels in the stuff and rubbed the chain between the paper towels. It was like magic. The chain scrubbed it super nice.

What is this stuff? Is it a degreaser+lubricant? I used it to clean the rear derailleur, which worked awesome as well, except I needed some WD40 in the jockey wheels to make it run smoothly.

I've ridden about 500km since using the mineral oils on the chain and didn't use any lube. It seems pretty good.

[thegunner]

it's a byproduct of gasoline production, but think of it more as a cleaner and less of a lubricant.

[ANAO]

it's a byproduct of gasoline production, but think of it more as a cleaner and less of a lubricant.

Why does my bottle say it is an "edible" "constipation reliever"?

[cmbicycles]

Why does my bottle say it is an "edible" "constipation reliever"?
Mineral spirits, or mineral oil? Oil you can use as above or it along with a couple other simple ingredients makes great baby wipes. Spirits are good for cleaning oil based paint out of brushes.

[batman1425]

Why does my bottle say it is an "edible" "constipation reliever"?

Mineral oil is often still a byproduct of petroleum production, but can be generated from other sources as well. Baby oil is a mineral oil and some mineral oils are safe for consumption as a laxative. Also frequently used in cosmetics and many biomedical research applications.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Why does my bottle say it is an "edible" "constipation reliever"?

Food grade (non toxic) so you can use it to maintain your cutting board. Or, you know, take a swig and lube your guts.

[Kontact]

It's the same base product as Vaseline.

When I realized that Vaseline was petroleum I stopped using everything related to "petroleum jelly" or mineral oil on my body. Gross.


If it cleans a chain well, that's cool. It is a lot less nasty than most things that will clean a chain, and will probably break down the interior lubricants less.

That is, if we are talking about mineral oil and not mineral spirits.