Designed for the foam filters of off-road motorcycles, the Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner takes the British company’s Clean Machine philosophy further. Muc-Off started with a bike cleaning solution 30 years ago and has since expanded its offering to motorcycle products to take care of road and dirt bike riders. The new air filter cleaner is simple, easy to use and effective.
Anyone who has ever tried to clean a neglected filter using conventional means knows that it usually requires more than just a few steps:
- Dip the filter in a mild solvent and squeeze it out.
- Take out the filter and press a little more.
- Immerse the filter in another container of clean solvent.
- Remove the filter and squeeze it again.
- Repeat the process until no more air filter oil and grease comes out of the filter.
- Wash the filter under running water with liquid dishwashing detergent (usually Dawn Platinum) over a clean tub so you can judge how clean the water coming out of the filter is.
- Rinse and repeat until soap and dirt are removed and the water runs clear. At this point, the filter is clean and ready to air dry.
- Filter out the liquid in both solvent containers for reuse – do not pour it into the trash or down the drain.
Out of the box, I immediately tested the Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner on a dirty, 18-month-old Twin Air foam filter that was sitting in the airbox of a 2023 Beta 480 RR I’d recently purchased. This was the original filter that came with the bike, with the original factory filter oil – gross.
There are several quick-clean air filter cleaners available. Most work as advertised – soak, squeeze, wash in the sink, etc. The problem is that the cleaning quality of these products usually requires repeated cleaning, which requires an excessive amount of detergent and water in the sink to remove all the dirt.
The Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner is different. Although the basic process is the same, less effort and time is required. Here are the steps:
- Soak the filter in Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner for a few minutes.
- Massage the filter until the cleaner forms a thick foam.
- Squeeze out the excess.
- Rinse the filter in the sink (without soap) and let it dry.
- Pour the Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner back into the bottle, using a funnel to avoid spillage.
That’s it.
Unlike the other products, the filter is perfectly clean after one or two rinses. How did I know it was clean? Well, after following the steps above, I placed the filter in a tub of clean water with a few drops of dish soap and tried to make the dirt trapped in the filter visible through the water, but there was nothing. The water remained clear, indicating that the air filter had been thoroughly cleaned.
The Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner is unaffected by the oil, grease and dirt it picks up and is ready for another round of filter cleaning without the need for further treatment. Eventually the cleaner will be overwhelmed by the oil and dirt but this depends on how dirty your filters get.
At $16 per litre, the Muc-Off Air Filter Cleaner is faster, better, easier and cheaper than other products I’ve tried. It’s great stuff and highly recommended.
