WHS. After cleaning/degreasing the inner, inspect it carefully for broken wires.
Pull a cloth up and down it a few times first rather than running it through your fingers. A tiny broken wire can pull a nice chunk of flesh off. Note if there are any very shiney spots that have been rubbing locally on the outer. This may mean that the inner lining has broken down there and it's rubbing on the metal. Wash out the inner with gas, kerosene, brake cleaner, whatever you've got. Hang up to drain and dry, overnight good. Grease the inner sparingly with graphite/moly grease. Put back together and refit with no tight curves. Road test, it might take a few miles to settle down, and see if you've saved yourself some money. If the answers "no", at least you've tried and you'll know a few short cuts when you change to a new one.