Harley Ryland
Degreasers are used to remove grease, oil, road film, grime and other stubborn contamination from vehicles, equipment, tools, concrete, shop surfaces and more.
A good all-purpose cleaner and degreaser can handle dozens of jobs depending on its strength, dilution and the surface being cleaned. Common degreaser uses include cleaning engine bays, tires, wheel wells, shop floors, tools, heavy equipment, fleet vehicles and industrial work areas.
But that doesn't mean every degreaser belongs on every surface. Strength, chemistry, dilution and dwell time matter. We'll cover 25 practical uses below, along with where an all-purpose degreaser makes sense and when a more specialized cleaner is the better choice.
What Is a Degreaser Used For?
A degreaser is designed to break down and remove oily, greasy and heavily soiled contamination that ordinary soap may struggle to remove. All-purpose cleaner/degreasers, commonly called APCs, extend that idea by giving the user a broader range of applications through dilution.
A concentrated APC might be mixed stronger for greasy equipment and significantly lighter for routine cleaning. That flexibility is why these products are common in detailing shops, maintenance departments, fleets and industrial facilities.
The important part is matching the strength to the job. Stronger isn't automatically better.
| Common degreaser use | Typical contamination |
|---|---|
| Engine bays | Oil, grease, road grime |
| Tires & wheel wells | Road film, old dressing, dirt |
| Tools & equipment | Grease, oil, shop grime |
| Shop floors | Oil and greasy residue |
| Heavy equipment | Hydraulic oil, grease, mud |
| Fleet vehicles | Road film and oily contamination |
| Maintenance areas | General grease and grime |
Vehicle Cleaning Applications
1. Engine Bay Cleaning
Engine bays are one of the most common places where a degreaser earns its keep. Oil residue, greasy buildup, road grime, and years of accumulated dirt can be difficult to remove with ordinary car wash soap alone. An appropriate degreaser can break that contamination down so it can be agitated and rinsed away more easily.
Always work on a cool surface, avoid allowing the cleaner to dry, and use care around sensitive electronics and materials that may not tolerate strong alkaline cleaners.
2. Wheel Wells
Wheel wells collect a nasty combination of mud, road film, brake dust, salt, grease, and whatever else the tires throw at them. A degreaser or properly diluted APC can loosen this buildup before agitation and rinsing, making wheel-well cleaning considerably easier.
For heavily neglected vehicles, treating the wheel wells before the main wash can prevent all that contamination from becoming an afterthought at the end of the job.
3. Tire Cleaning
Tires can hold onto road grime, silicone dressing, browning, and layers of previously applied tire products. Cleaning that residue away gives new tire dressing a clean surface to bond to and can produce a more even finished appearance.
For neglected tires, multiple cleaning cycles may be necessary. Continue cleaning until the foam and runoff stop pulling significant contamination from the rubber.
4. Door Jambs
Door jambs accumulate dust, road grime, grease, shoe marks, and oily residue while receiving far less attention than the exterior paint. A properly diluted APC can make quick work of these areas without requiring a dedicated cleaner just for jambs.
Use a brush or microfiber towel for tight areas and hinges, and avoid flooding electrical connectors or allowing strong cleaner to dwell unnecessarily on painted surfaces.
5. Undercarriage Cleaning
The underside of a vehicle is constantly exposed to mud, road film, grease, salt, and other contaminants. Degreasers are especially useful on work trucks, fleet vehicles, off-road vehicles, and equipment where buildup can become considerably heavier than on a typical passenger car.
Pre-treating stubborn areas before pressure washing can reduce the amount of mechanical cleaning needed and help remove oily contamination that water alone leaves behind.
6. Bug Removal Preparation
Fresh and dried insect residue can be surprisingly stubborn, particularly after it has baked onto a vehicle in the sun. A suitable APC can help soften organic residue before the main wash, reducing the amount of aggressive scrubbing required.
However, don't assume that stronger is better. Painted, coated, and delicate exterior surfaces require appropriate dilution and limited dwell time. For persistent contamination, a dedicated bug remover may be the better choice.
7. Truck and Fleet Maintenance
Commercial trucks accumulate road film, diesel residue, grease, mud, and oily contamination that ordinary wash soap may struggle to remove by itself. Degreasers can be used as part of a regular fleet-cleaning program or as targeted pre-treatment on especially dirty areas.
The goal isn't necessarily to use the strongest chemical possible. A repeatable cleaning process with the correct chemistry, dilution, dwell time, temperature, and pressure is usually more valuable than simply throwing stronger degreaser at every truck.
Interior Cleaning Applications
8. Vinyl Surfaces
Vinyl can collect body oils, dust, spills, food residue, and general grime, particularly in work vehicles and heavily used interiors. A properly diluted APC can clean many durable vinyl surfaces without requiring a separate cleaner for every interior component.
Interior surfaces generally require much lighter cleaning strength than engines or equipment. Test an inconspicuous area first and never assume that a dilution appropriate for exterior grime belongs inside the vehicle.
9. Plastic Trim
Cupholders, door panels, consoles, kick panels, and other plastic components can accumulate fingerprints, oils, dirt, and embedded grime. A mild APC solution paired with a microfiber towel or detailing brush can be effective for routine cleaning.
Avoid saturating switches, screens, electronics, or delicate finishes. Some plastics and coatings are more sensitive than they appear, making proper dilution and spot testing especially important.
10. Rubber Floor Mats
Rubber and all-weather floor mats are excellent candidates for APC cleaning because they routinely collect mud, spills, road salt, dirt, and oily residue from shoes. Removing the mats from the vehicle allows them to be treated, agitated, and rinsed thoroughly.
Make sure the mats are fully rinsed and dry before returning them to the vehicle, particularly around the driver's pedals where slippery residue is the last thing you want.
11. Cargo Areas
Work trucks, vans, SUVs, and service vehicles can develop some impressive messes in their cargo areas. Dirt, grease, spilled materials, footprints, and general jobsite grime often require more cleaning power than a basic interior spray provides.
An APC can be particularly useful on durable cargo-area plastics, rubber flooring, and other washable surfaces. As always, match the dilution and cleaning method to the material being cleaned.
Garage and Workshop Uses
12. Shop Floors
Automotive and maintenance shops inevitably end up with greasy footprints, oil residue, dirt, and spills on concrete floors. Degreasers help break oily contamination away from the surface so it can be scrubbed, pressure washed, extracted, or rinsed away.
Older oil stains that have penetrated porous concrete may require specialized treatment and repeated cleaning. A degreaser can remove surface contamination without necessarily making years of absorbed staining magically disappear.
13. Tool Cleaning
Wrenches, sockets, hand tools, and other shop equipment quickly become coated with grease and oily residue. Degreaser can help remove that buildup before tools are dried and returned to storage.
Pay attention to the tool's construction and finish. Electrical tools, precision instruments, lubricated mechanisms, and corrosion-sensitive components should not simply be dropped into a bucket of degreaser because the internet said so.
14. Toolboxes
Toolbox handles, drawer fronts, liners, and work surfaces can gradually become covered in fingerprints, grease, dust, and shop grime. A properly diluted APC makes routine cleanup easier and helps prevent oily residue from transferring right back onto freshly cleaned tools.
For painted or coated toolboxes, use an appropriate dilution and test first rather than treating the surface like an engine block.
15. Work Benches
Work benches see everything from grease and lubricants to dirt, dust, adhesives, and general shop contamination. An APC can provide a convenient everyday cleaner for durable bench tops and work surfaces.
The actual surface material matters. Stainless steel, sealed surfaces, painted benches, unfinished wood, and specialty coatings can all respond differently to strong cleaners.
16. Equipment Maintenance
Generators, compressors, pumps, pressure washers, and other shop equipment can accumulate oily dirt that makes inspection and maintenance more difficult. Keeping equipment clean doesn't just improve appearance. It can also make leaks, damaged components, and maintenance problems easier to spot.
Apply cleaner carefully around engines, electrical components, bearings, air intakes, and other areas where excessive water or chemical exposure could cause problems.
Home and Property Cleaning Applications
17. Outdoor Furniture
Outdoor furniture collects pollen, dirt, food residue, environmental grime, and sometimes organic buildup throughout the season. A mild APC solution can be useful on many washable outdoor surfaces before rinsing.
Because patio furniture can be made from painted metal, plastic, fabric, wood, composite materials, or specialty coatings, always verify compatibility before treating everything with the same solution.
18. Trash Cans
Few things make a better argument for owning degreaser than the inside of a neglected trash can. Food residue, leaked garbage, grease, dirt, and general biological nastiness can build up on both residential and commercial containers.
An APC can loosen the grime before brushing or pressure washing. Cleaning removes the material responsible for many odors, although a degreaser should not automatically be treated as a disinfectant or sanitizer unless the product is specifically registered for that purpose.
19. Garage Doors
Garage doors collect pollen, dust, insects, road grime, and environmental contamination over time. A mild APC can help clean durable exterior surfaces when ordinary water isn't enough.
Painted and coated finishes should be treated conservatively. Use a mild dilution, avoid letting cleaner dry on the surface, and rinse thoroughly.
20. Driveways and Concrete
Degreasers are commonly used to treat fresh oil, grease, automotive fluids, and other oily contamination on concrete. Pre-treatment can help break up the residue before agitation and pressure washing.
Concrete is porous, so older stains may penetrate below the surface and require repeated or specialized treatment. For severe hydraulic-oil contamination, we've covered the process separately in our guide to removing hydraulic fluid from concrete.
Commercial and Industrial Uses
21. Equipment Cleaning
Construction, agricultural, mining, and industrial equipment can accumulate layers of grease, hydraulic fluid, mud, dust, and oily contamination. Heavy-duty degreasers help loosen that buildup before hot-water or pressure washing.
This is also where chemistry selection becomes especially important. Painted equipment, aluminum, electrical systems, hydraulic components, and specialty materials may require different concentrations or products.
22. Forklifts and Material-Handling Equipment
Forklifts operate in environments where hydraulic residue, grease, warehouse dust, tire marks, and general grime are common. Routine cleaning can improve appearance while making leaks and maintenance issues easier to notice.
Care should be taken around controls, electrical components, batteries, connectors, labels, and sensitive equipment. Cleaning a forklift should not involve indiscriminately pressure washing everything you can see.
23. Manufacturing Facilities
Manufacturing environments can generate oils, lubricants, production residue, tracked-in dirt, and other contamination across floors, equipment, work areas, and maintenance spaces. A versatile degreaser can become a useful part of routine facility maintenance.
Industrial cleaning requirements vary dramatically, however. Surface compatibility, wastewater handling, worker safety, process requirements, and facility procedures should all be considered when selecting chemistry.
24. Fleet Vehicles
Delivery trucks, service vehicles, utility fleets, buses, and other commercial vehicles accumulate contamination differently from lightly used personal vehicles. Frequent mileage means frequent exposure to road film, insects, grease, fuel residue, mud, and weather.
Using concentrated cleaning products also allows fleet operators to adjust strength based on the job rather than paying to ship and store mostly water in multiple ready-to-use cleaners.
25. Maintenance Departments
Maintenance departments may be responsible for vehicles, machinery, floors, tools, equipment, parts, and whatever unexpected mess appears before lunch. That's exactly where a versatile cleaner earns its shelf space.
Keeping a concentrated APC/degreaser on hand can simplify inventory and allow technicians to adjust cleaning strength for different jobs. Specialized chemistry still has its place, but one genuinely versatile product can eliminate the need for a surprising number of redundant cleaners.
All-Purpose Cleaner vs. Degreaser: What's the Difference?
All-purpose cleaners and degreasers overlap, but they aren't necessarily the same thing.
An all-purpose cleaner (APC) is designed around versatility. It may be used for everything from light dirt and general grime to interior plastics, rubber, vehicle surfaces, shop equipment, and routine maintenance cleaning. Concentrated APCs can often be diluted differently depending on how much cleaning power the job requires.
A degreaser is more specifically designed to attack grease, oil, lubricants, and other heavy oily contamination. Degreasers are commonly used on engines, machinery, tools, shop floors, heavy equipment, and other areas where ordinary cleaners or soaps may struggle.
The confusion comes from the fact that these categories can overlap considerably. Some concentrated cleaners are formulated to function as both an APC and a degreaser, with dilution helping determine how aggressively the product is used.
So Which One Should You Use?
For light dirt, routine cleaning, and a wide variety of surfaces, an APC is usually the more versatile choice. When the primary problem is heavy grease, oil, or stubborn industrial contamination, a dedicated degreaser may provide more cleaning power.
But stronger isn't automatically better.
Using an unnecessarily aggressive degreaser can create problems on sensitive plastics, painted surfaces, aluminum, coatings, and interior materials. The goal is to use enough chemistry to remove the contamination without using more strength than the surface or job requires.
That's why professional cleaning is less about finding the strongest chemical on the shelf and more about matching the right chemistry, concentration, dwell time, agitation, and temperature to the job.
Where Formula 85 Fits
Formula 85 is formulated as both a concentrated all-purpose cleaner and degreaser, allowing its cleaning strength to be adjusted for different applications through dilution.
At lighter concentrations, it can handle routine cleaning and general grime. Stronger mixtures can be used when more degreasing power is needed for vehicles, equipment, shops, fleets, and commercial cleaning.
For extremely heavy industrial grease and contamination, however, a dedicated heavy-duty degreaser may still be the better tool.
That's the real advantage of an APC/degreaser: not that it replaces every cleaner you own, but that one versatile product can handle a hell of a lot of jobs before you need to reach for something more specialized.
One Cleaner, A Lot of Jobs
The reason professionals keep all-purpose degreasers around isn't complicated: versatility saves time, shelf space and money.
The right cleaner can move from vehicle maintenance to shop cleanup to equipment cleaning simply by adjusting how it's used. But chemistry still matters. Always follow the manufacturer's dilution and surface-compatibility recommendations, and use specialized products when the job calls for them.
Formula 85 is Clean 85's concentrated all-purpose cleaner and degreaser, manufactured in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for automotive, commercial, fleet and industrial cleaning.
Need something stronger for heavy industrial grease and equipment? [Explore P-31 Max]