My uncle swore by WD-40 for squeaky hinges until I used it on my bike chain and it seized up within 3 rides.

He told me last month at his garage in Denver it works for everything, but now I'm stuck replacing a $45 chain, has anyone else gotten bad advice from a relative that backfired?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane_fisher3715h ago

My neighbor gave me the same advice about using motor oil on his lawnmower air filter. Ended up having to rebuild the whole carburetor. Seems like some folks just learn one trick and think it applies to everything.

victor_jones9911h ago

Shane, you reminded me of the time my cousin Billy put 10W-30 in his snow blower's gas tank because he figured "oil is oil." The whole thing seized up in about 15 minutes, and he had to replace the engine. I swear some people hear one piece of advice from a buddy and treat it like gospel, even when it doesn't make any sense. My neighbor told me to use dish soap in my pressure washer pump once, and that ended up costing me a new pump too. It's like they think all machines run on the same set of rules, but that's just not how it works.