Instructions on cleaning your inline skate bearings

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SkatesCool recommends the following procedure when your bearings are scratchy and noisy.
1. Remove old bearings from wheels and throw them away.
2. Buy cheap new bearings and reinstall them in wheels.

Alternatively:

Bearing Maintenance Instructions:
1. Keep your bearings dirt-free, moisture free, and lubricated. Water will rust your bearings and dirt will destroy the smoothness of the polished finish on your bearing races, increasing friction.
2. Clean your bearings when they become dirty or noisy with acetone which can be bought from hardware stores.
3. Wear appropriate rubber gloves and eye protection and work in a safe well ventilated area. When you are finished, please remember to dispose of your solvent in a safe, ecologically sound manner.
4. Do not add oil to dirty bearings. It will not clean the bearing, but merely flush the existing dirt further into the bearing. It may seem like they roll faster initially, but in reality you are only spreading the dirt around, and it will still be there to ruin the high precision rolling surfaces of your bearings. Clean your bearings before re-lubricating them.

Cleaning Instructions:
1. Remove your bearings from the wheels using the short metal end of a Salomon Skate Tool or similar which can be bought at a good skate shop.
2. Gently remove the non-contact rubber shield with a bent safety pin by prying the shield upwards from under the shield at the inner race. It should pop up and out quite easily.

If you have metal facings remove both of them by unpicking the c-clips with your safety pin. Be careful not to bend or tear the shield as you remove them. Bent shields don’t fit right and may allow contaminants into the bearing.

Don’t use solvents to clean the rubber shields! Doing so may cause the rubber be damaged. Just wipe the rubber shields down with warm soapy water and a lint free cloth. Make sure the shields are completely clean and dry before re-installing.
3. Clean your bearings by soaking them in your cleaning solution in a glass jar. Gently agitate the jar making the solution flush through the bearing. Keep replacing the dirty solution with clean solution until the solution no longer changes color and you are satisfied with the smoothness of the bearing roll.
4. Dry your bearings. Remove the bearings from the solvent and air dry. Acetone will evaporate quickly and will not cause the bearing to rust as it dries in the air. Rotate the bearing every minute or so.
5. Reinstall your rubber or metal shields on one side only.
6. Lubricate your bearings. We recommend 2 small squirts of spray get lubricant which can be bought in a can from cycle shops. It’s cheap, works well and lasts forever.
7. Reinstall your clean shields on the other side.
8. Reinstall your bearings back into the wheels.

Dont forget about rotating the wheels on your inline skates too.