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Dawn to clean radiator

S

Steve-Maine

Member
I cleaned my radiator in an antique car with Dawn and it did a great job. I have rinsed it 6 times and still have soap suds. how can I get rid of the suds ? Years ago I worked in a laundry and when we got too many suds, we used a white power to knock the suds. What can I use ? Thanks
 
Hi Steve A bit like cleaning a boomspray with wetter in the tank. Best I find is to fill the container and float off the detergent suds. Then empty it and just keep doing it, the suds will keep rising to the top. A radiator will be difficult with all the passages. Hope that helps Matt
 

Salt will stop the surfactant action of any soap . Not the best to leave in a radiator but a teaspoon shouldn't hurt too much . Dissolve it in hot water add to the radiator water and swish it about before flushing out .
 
I would flush it with the engine running fast idle, the drain cock open, and the return heater hose removed to get circulation through the block and heater.

Let the water hose run in the cap enough to keep it overflowing and full flow out the heater hose. Probably about 15 minutes will be sufficient.

Even if there is a little foam, the new antifreeze should calm it down, shouldn't be a problem.
 
Hello Steve-Maine,

A cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Fill, warm up, flush!

Guido.
 

Where do people get the idea that Dawn can clean everything? This is one of the best examples yet of how to not clean something using dawn. Vinegar, and Coca Cola, lemon juice, milk stone remover, CLR and many other home remedies will work because they have acid in them. How about getting real crazy and using radiator cleaner? With all the suds it is certain that you can't see if it worked or not, but you can bet that without any acid, the mineral film or solder bloom that you wanted to remove is still there.
 
Several years a go the oil cooler on my Gleaner LII combine leaked the engine oil into the radiator. The Gleaner dealer told me to flush the radiator with Dawn dish soap to get the oil out. It worked very well. I didn't use anything to remove the suds. This happened 1998 and I never did have any trouble with that radiator. Sold the combine in 2014.
 
"Where do people get the idea that Dawn can clean everything? "

Likely the TV ads. especially the ones where they clean up ducks after an oil spill.

Anything I used called radiator clean on it is so weak it won't do anything.
 
(quoted from post at 10:26:12 10/06/17) "Where do people get the idea that Dawn can clean everything? "

Likely the TV ads. especially the ones where they clean up ducks after an oil spill.

Anything I used called radiator clean on it is so weak it won't do anything.
Click to expand...

I agree that it is probably the duck cleaning ads. But that still doesn't get you to where you would think that you could clean anything tough. After all, if you used anything really aggressive like we all want to use on our greasy machines on a duck, you would have no duck left, LOL.
 
That's about what I had with a JD720 D with some laundry detergent in the rad. and it had a blown head gasket blowing extra pressure in there too ! I had a bubble blower for sure.
A fellow I knew has always used Tide ? of some sort low suds ? in his repairs of semi trucks. I didn't have the right kind !
 
(quoted from post at 16:48:30 10
/06/17) Use automatic dish washer soap...no suds!
Click to expand...

Calgon dishwasher detergent--powder mix---used It for years in over the road trucks with oil cooler/radiator problems--and after cleaning-the "running flush" to cycle out the leftover--and no suds
 
(quoted from post at 18:15:56 10/05/17)
Where do people get the idea that Dawn can clean everything? This is one of the best examples yet of how to not clean something using dawn.
Click to expand...
I've had good luck using Dawn as a hand cleaner. Seems to lift all the grime off, not hard on the hide
 
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