Rust-eating Acid and NON hazardous !

Sirocco Jerry

Active member
I found a NON-toxic NON hazardous acid-powder, that removes
rust and red-dirt stains as good as Sulfamic, or Oxalic acids.
It can be shipped with NO special lable or other than standard freight charges.
I have been using it to descale heater-coils (quite successfully)
for over 25 years.. It won't hurt your pump, but it LOVES the rust !
Recently..
I used it on a greasy-oily gnarly nightmare disaster in my own side yard..
An old can of "heavily used" carb-cleaner-dip had beed spilled several days before..
even the smell came out !!
It's the first time I have seen an acid work past an oily-mix stain,
and it did NOT bleach the concrete !
It is a blend of Citric Acid.. that's right, the same acid as in soda pop !

What a lifesaver !!.. That carb-cleaner had spilled into my neighbor's walkway, and 30 feet down his driveway !! :eek:
The incident was also a great demo of EnviroFriendly cleaning too..

We sprayed a citrus-based degreaser on it (only diluting it 1:1 with water to minimize liquid-volume).
..that worked great to penetrate, break down the oils,
and help kill the horrible smell.
Then we sopped-up the spill with old newspapers..
That's recycling, and concentrates the "hazardous part" into soild-form
for cheeper handling.
Then, the final rinse with hot H.P. almost took ALL the of stain away !
Containment was a cheep shop-vac with a VacuBerm (of course).
:nhl_checking:

By the way..
As you're looking at that sodapop lable..
you might be shocked to see some have Phosphoric Acid instead of Citric ! ..
STOP buying those ! and STOP letting your kids drink that crap..
Osteoperosis is common enough. Eh?
 
Now, if I'm not mistaken, a citrus based degreaser would contain citrus terpenes, i.e, d-limonene (a naturally occurring solvent) as opposed to citric acid.
 
Good point Russ,
Any spill should be "cleaned up" with degreaser first..
What remains, is what I refer to as the stain.
The acid is in powder form.. not liquid.

Guys..
that acid is great-stuff, and really limits your liability issues..
Ask your favorite supplier what they have in citric-based product !
..I'm just sharing technology here.
 
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Also..
chemicals that are similar won't counter-act as easily
(when you don't want them to), So..
when using the Citric acid, prefer a citric-based degreaser,
and what remains when you add the acid won't depreciate
the effectiveness of the acid.
Example..
the acid will FIRST act on neutralizing a caustic mix
before it can start on the stain.
My favorite degreaser is D-Limonene with Butyl..
it REALLY penetrates !
..and faster is better. Eh?
 
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Alot of Highway patrol cars carry a couple of 12 pak's of Coca Cola in their trunks, they use it to remove blood stains from roadway accidents. It will also take rust stains out, or dissolve a nail if u let it soak for 3 days. I will stick to water to quench my thirst.
 
Coke has phosphoric acid in it, which is fairly aggressive. For what it is worth, have you ever looked at a nail that has been in water for a long time? Acids just accelerate the process.

I have been using citric for a long time. I think that the first time I used it was about 18 years ago. Excellent stuff, and easy to buy in bulk.
 
No matter WHAT you use..
keep proper MSDS sheets in your truck, at all times, for everything.
and stop using Muriatic, Hydrochloric, Phosphoric, Nitric, and HydroFlouric acids
completely.
..They will hurt you, and/or the environment.
Citric works great.. I'm sticking with it.
But,
..I don't do any cleaning (for hire), and I'm curious of the "word from the field"..
especially the "safer" acids..
Share the subtle differences you've seen between the
products you have tested "methodically"..
Post your experience here, and detail the results.

This is how suppliers are lead-in-to products for processes that are "sustainable".
Don't look at it as giving away trade secrets..
Look at it as education for "sustainable standards"
I know y'all want to keep the newbies in line. Eh?
 
No matter WHAT you use..
keep proper MSDS sheets in your truck, at all times, for everything.
and stop using Muriatic, Hydrochloric, Phosphoric, Nitric, and HydroFlouric acids
completely.
..They will hurt you, and/or the environment.
Citric works great.. I'm sticking with it.
But,
..I don't do any cleaning (for hire), and I'm curious of the "word from the field"..
especially the "safer" acids..
Share the subtle differences you've seen between the
products you have tested "methodically"..
Post your experience here, and detail the results.

This is how suppliers are lead-in-to products for processes that are "sustainable".
Don't look at it as giving away trade secrets..
Look at it as education for "sustainable standards"
I know y'all want to keep the newbies in line. Eh?


Not all rust stains are the same. When strong acid is used, I would suggest to be neutralized and it wont be harm for the human or environment. Soda Ash is cheap and good acid neutralizer. Call Lori and order a bucket. I posted some info in another thread so here is a copy/paste :)..

link
Here is two types of different rust stains. One is iron stain (sprinkler system) which is very easy to be removed with light acid. Removing is very effective as before/after. The second type is steel rust which is very hard to be removed and needs stronger acid. Sometimes acid can edge the concrete and still some shadow from the stain will remain. Overusing strong acid or leaving it on the concrete too long may leave yellowish stains which are as bad as the rust stain..
Here are the before/after images again (first is iron rust, second is steel rust):

rust-removal-before-after.jpg

rust2-before-after.jpg
 
Not all rust stains are the same. When strong acid is used, I would suggest to be neutralized and it wont be harm for the human or environment. Soda Ash is cheap and good acid neutralizer. Call Lori and order a bucket. I posted some info in another thread so here is a copy/paste :)..

link

Here are the before/after images again (first is iron rust, second is steel rust):

rust-removal-before-after.jpg

rust2-before-after.jpg

Nice!!!!!!!
 
good pics and great insight D.P.

but I see nobody's giving up the "trade secrets" on their favorite acids.

..I think there might be free samples soon in Milwaulkie at PowerWash supply !
 
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