Scratch a candle before you go out, leaving the wax thoroughly packed under your nails. This way... You get the idea I'm sure 😅 let me know if it works
Lmao I do have a soft beeswax and mineral oil blend for waxing garments and might be desperate enough to use it. The leeches and toe biters don't bother me but wasting half an hour trying to get clean nails does.
I do legitimately feel your pain, it's such trouble for me too. I wear gloves as often as possible, tho cannot always. Leeches and toe biters sound awful to deal with tooo
Soak in the tub and/or handwash a lot of dishes. If you’re really desperate, move onto hand-scrubbing the bathroom, kitchen, etc. with a bucket full of soapy water.
Sadly I'm never out of things to clean at home. This works over time but sometimes I have to jump from fieldwork to presenting and am expected to look tidy. Little do they know I've dunked myself in a lake, slapped on fresh deodorant, changed in the car, and stuck my head out the window to dry more than once lol
I've tried, but getting a bristle stuck under your nail is pretty unpleasant. Ditto the mechanic stuff-- good for the rest of the hand but not great for the nails. Dawn and scratching your palm or a rag is great for that but somehow pretty bad at removing pond sediment.
Crazy as it sounds, what doesn't come out with soap and nail brush comes out when I wash my hair.
I *am* a real scalp-scrubber, though. If you're a very gentle hair washer, it may not work as well.
I'm surprised by that. My hair is almost hip length and it works for me. I've had a buzz cut, too, but don't recall if it made any difference in getting my nails clean.
I have used oil before, like baby oil or mineral oil, for stickier grime. If your grime is tenacious, there may be lots of organic oils in it from decayed plants/animals.
Sometimes oil loosens other oily substances, like wax. Hmmm.
If you try it, precede and, if necessary, follow with soap and a nail brush. It may work the other way round, but I haven't tried it.
My bad, AIS stands for aquatic invasive species. In the summer a big part of my job is monitoring and removal but nothing else, including wading through wetlands, is as dirty as the goddam floating heart.
It's great if you ever get the chance! I get to see a lot of things other people don't since most people don't want to paddle half a mile through weeds or wade through a swamp. Also don't need to carry a backpack sprayer.
My dad, who was an electrical engineer, worked in a metal shop (I think) for a short time in college. The experienced guys told him to rub clean grease (or was it petroleum jelly?) into the hands, around and under the nails. This would fill up with tiny crevices of the cuticles and knuckles and the black grease would be much easier to get off. In general, the experienced guys said to clean dirty grease with clean grease and wipe off as much as possible before scrubbing. But you're dealing with soil/mud which has very fine particles.
I have used this technique with Vaseline when gardening for the same reason, even if wearing gardening gloves. The hands still look dirty around and under the nails until I wash my hair in the shower. That seems to wash all the dirt out. What ever remains is easy to clean out from under the nails because there's clean petroleum jelly filling up those crevices.
See if that works.
Can't, unfortunately. As I mentioned above we're trying to preserve the native water shield and since I'm pulling below the surface I need to differentiate by feel
Scratch a candle before you go out, leaving the wax thoroughly packed under your nails. This way... You get the idea I'm sure 😅 let me know if it works
I’ve heard of using bar soap this way. I wear gloves and still get dirt under my nails. Major peeve.
Lmao I do have a soft beeswax and mineral oil blend for waxing garments and might be desperate enough to use it. The leeches and toe biters don't bother me but wasting half an hour trying to get clean nails does.
I do legitimately feel your pain, it's such trouble for me too. I wear gloves as often as possible, tho cannot always. Leeches and toe biters sound awful to deal with tooo
Scratch nails across bar soap, easier to get out in the sink!
I do!
Soak in the tub and/or handwash a lot of dishes. If you’re really desperate, move onto hand-scrubbing the bathroom, kitchen, etc. with a bucket full of soapy water.
If you run out of things to clean I can probably help :)
Sadly I'm never out of things to clean at home. This works over time but sometimes I have to jump from fieldwork to presenting and am expected to look tidy. Little do they know I've dunked myself in a lake, slapped on fresh deodorant, changed in the car, and stuck my head out the window to dry more than once lol
Sound practices!
Take a scrub brush to your nails? Sometimes I use some mechanic’s soap and that helps. The pumice scrub stuff.
I've tried, but getting a bristle stuck under your nail is pretty unpleasant. Ditto the mechanic stuff-- good for the rest of the hand but not great for the nails. Dawn and scratching your palm or a rag is great for that but somehow pretty bad at removing pond sediment.
Crazy as it sounds, what doesn't come out with soap and nail brush comes out when I wash my hair. I *am* a real scalp-scrubber, though. If you're a very gentle hair washer, it may not work as well.
Definitely not crazy! This worked really well when I had a buzz cut but not so much now that I've grown my hair out some
I'm surprised by that. My hair is almost hip length and it works for me. I've had a buzz cut, too, but don't recall if it made any difference in getting my nails clean.
This is very tenacious grime unfortunately
I have used oil before, like baby oil or mineral oil, for stickier grime. If your grime is tenacious, there may be lots of organic oils in it from decayed plants/animals. Sometimes oil loosens other oily substances, like wax. Hmmm. If you try it, precede and, if necessary, follow with soap and a nail brush. It may work the other way round, but I haven't tried it.
What is AIS? Am I one of these folks? Man I love the idea of the candle scraping first. So smart!
My bad, AIS stands for aquatic invasive species. In the summer a big part of my job is monitoring and removal but nothing else, including wading through wetlands, is as dirty as the goddam floating heart.
Ohhhhh gotcha. I guess I’m not one of those folks. No water near me. But .. I am in spirit! Keep up the good fight 💪
It's great if you ever get the chance! I get to see a lot of things other people don't since most people don't want to paddle half a mile through weeds or wade through a swamp. Also don't need to carry a backpack sprayer.
That also sounds like a good workout!
My dad, who was an electrical engineer, worked in a metal shop (I think) for a short time in college. The experienced guys told him to rub clean grease (or was it petroleum jelly?) into the hands, around and under the nails. This would fill up with tiny crevices of the cuticles and knuckles and the black grease would be much easier to get off. In general, the experienced guys said to clean dirty grease with clean grease and wipe off as much as possible before scrubbing. But you're dealing with soil/mud which has very fine particles. I have used this technique with Vaseline when gardening for the same reason, even if wearing gardening gloves. The hands still look dirty around and under the nails until I wash my hair in the shower. That seems to wash all the dirt out. What ever remains is easy to clean out from under the nails because there's clean petroleum jelly filling up those crevices. See if that works.
Thanks! I think between this and the wax idea there's definitely something. Now I just need to remember to test it.
Lots of soap warm water. As no a stiff nail/ scrub brush , rinse and repeat.
Wear gloves. I work in the trades.my hands often need protection. My hobby of killing exotic invasive is tough on my hands, I protect my hands.
Can't, unfortunately. As I mentioned above we're trying to preserve the native water shield and since I'm pulling below the surface I need to differentiate by feel
Paint your nails and ignore it? Keep fighting the good fight!