I (19M) am a lifeguard. The lifeguard chairs at the pool I work at are on wheels, and it’s the beginning of the season still right now so they haven’t been used in a while. The wheels are hella squeaky and make the most fucking horrible, ear splitting noise when you roll them even a very short distance.
Today, I was looking through the guard shack for duct tape to fix an umbrella pole when I noticed a can of WD-40 on the floor. I have little life experience and all I knew about WD-40 is that it can make rusty things less squeaky. I read the can and it didn’t say anything about staining anything or keeping away from fabric or clothes or specific materials so I didn’t think twice about getting it on the concrete or anything. I immediately thought about the lifeguard chair wheels and was stoked about finding the WD-40. I read the directions and figured I could just put a stream of it on each of the rusty bearings in the wheels and it would be all good. I didn’t think about any possible effect the WD-40 could have other than fixing the squeaky wheels.
So, on one of my breaks, I went and doused the wheels in WD-40. I put quite a bit of it on the wheels because the directions said to fully saturate whatever surface I was using it on. I was just excited about fixing the wheels at first, but after about half an hour I noticed that the water around the chair was evaporating but the excess WD-40 that had gotten on the ground was not. After a bit more time, I started to worry, and then I looked it up and my fears that it actually stains the ground were confirmed.
My boss loves me, but for some unknown reason, her supervisor hates me, and he is the one who would deal with issues like this. That does not bode well for me. I had my boyfriend bring Dawn dish soap to the pool for me to scrub it with when my shift is over because someone said that might help get the stain out so we’ll see. If it doesn’t then I don’t know wheat I’ll do. Oh, and the wheels are still squeaky. FML.
TL;DR: TIFU by trying to fix a lifeguard chair’s squeaky wheels with WD-40 and getting it all over the pool deck, likely staining it permanently.
Comments
Simple green my dude
If it was painted concrete prob toast, otherwise will be fine to pressure wash it. More than likely, the tool shop on site has a pressure washer.
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The WD stands for Water Displacement – it’s not meant to be used as a lubricant really, at least not long term. If something is squeaky WD-40 is a temp fix. You need to get a grease spray to fix thing permanently.
Basically, don’t use WD-40 for stuff like that, it’s not what it’s meant for. It’s meant for cleaning things, preventing rust and displacing moisture.
WD40 is oil based and the concrete pool deck is permiable. Once the oil gets in it’s tough to get out.
They make concrete degreaser… Stop by home depot or some other hardware store. Simple green is one brand but there are others. You can also try kitty litter and baking soda but honestly just get yourself some cleaner at the hardware store and save yourself a headache.
Wd-40 is not a lubricant. In fact, it will dissolve many lubricants. The squeaky wheel needs grease, wax, or oil. Those will also stain concrete and stone, so apply it over grass.
Go buy a few more cans and spray everything down so it all matches. Then if they say anything, tell them, I’m trying to displace the water to keep the concrete from rusting. They’ll probably start treating you better. Bless your heart.
WD-40 is actually a solvent, not an oil as some other commenters said. It should evaporate out of the concrete in a few days without leaving a stain.
When I get motor oil on my concrete driveway pad or garage floor, I actually use WD-40 as a solvent to clean it up. I dump wd-40 on it, scrub it with a brush, and wipe the excess off. In a few days, it is as good as new.