I was cleaning a Cessna 172's oil screen wrong for like a year.

I always just wiped it out with a rag, but my lead at the Dayton airport saw me and said, 'You gotta use the solvent spray can and blow it out with air, or you're leaving junk in there.' He showed me how the rag just pushes the fine metal bits back into the screen mesh. I mean, it makes total sense now. Anyone else have a simple task they were doing wrong for way too long?

4 comments

4 Comments

henrygrant3mo ago

Man, that is a HUGE detail to miss. I would have thought a rag was fine too. Makes you wonder what else we do on autopilot that's just wrong.

claire_hayes353mo ago

Honestly though, is it actually a big deal? Feels like people are making a huge fuss over nothing. Tbh I'd still use a rag.

king.kevin1mo ago

Holds true for more than you'd think - like how most people wash their jeans way too often and actually ruin the denim faster. The whole "everyone does it this way" thing often just means nobody stopped to question it. Kind of refreshing when someone points out the hidden rules we all follow without thinking.

nancy_davis1mo ago

Really depends if the thing even gets dirty enough to matter.