My regular shock-absorbing wheelchair wheels are broken and while I wait for them to be replaced, I’m using all-terrain wheels instead. These stand-in wheels don’t have the specialised push rims I need though. This means I’m having to use the tyres themselves, and my hands have been getting very grimy as a result.

It’s not standard grime that sits on the surface of my skin either. It’s a mix of grease and rubber that gets right into the creases of my hands and no amount of scrubbing washes it off.

Last weekend I was moaning about this to Leftwing Idiot while we were out for a walk and he suggested we pop into our local bike shop to ask for their advice since they handle grubby tyres all day. They’d been super-helpful when it came to fixing my Mountain Trike last summer so this seemed like a good plan.

They were very friendly and made two practical suggestions. The first was using washing-up liquid to get the grease off my hands, and the second was to use a barrier cream to help stop my hands getting dirty in the first place. As soon as I got home, I ordered a barrier cream – the type mechanics use.

I’ve been using it for about a week and it’s been a total gamechanger. It goes on like a moisturiser and doesn’t leave any residue on my hands, but it’s making them much easier to keep clean.

As a wheelchair user I’m used to having to remove barriers, so putting one on instead is making me laugh. I thought I’d share this life hack in case it’s useful to anyone else in a similar situation.