rusting can't be cleaned with water but can be cleaned after applying oxzolic acid on the rest. Why?
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Rust can be a minor annoyance if it stains your clothing or your tools, or it can be a major disaster in buildings and infrastructure. Rust is the result of an electrochemical reaction that is really like a battery; Iron turns to iron oxide with water as the electrolyte, actually making electricity in the process. That's why salt water rusts steel faster than fresh water; the ions move more easily, it's a better electrolyte.
The cost of rust is huge; America's bridges alone need $76 billion worth of repairs, and much of that is due to rust. But it also hits us at the more personal level, most obviously in our cars, but also with tools and appliances.
Whenever you get iron, water and oxygen together, you get rust. So the best way to prevent it is to keep them apart; that's what paint does, or the spray-on wax and oil coatings that the car protection companies sell. Keep your tools dry; wipe down your bike after a ride; keep the water away and it can't rust.
The acid treatment
If you have got rust that you want to get rid of, there are a couple of methods, mostly involving some form of acid. In the home you can use lemon juice (citric acid) or vinegar (acetic acid). Apartment Therapy offered a few recipes including one I had never heard of, with some interesting side benefits:
Salt + Lime: Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the rust, then squeeze the lime over the salt until it is soaking. Let the mixture sit for 2-3 hours and then remove the rust with the lime rind. This can also be done with a lemon. We like the salt and lime a little more because they double as margarita ingredients as well
Other acidic solutions include lemon juice and vinegar. Both Apartment Therapy and the Farmers' Almanac recommend potatoes, suggesting that this is particularly good with knives. "Sprinkle a little salt or baking soda onto the potato and then rub it over the rust spot, or just insert the knife into a potato and let it sit. The oxalic acid in the potato helps to dissolve the rust."
In Russia, they use Coca-Cola; it's the phosphoric acid.
The cost of rust is huge; America's bridges alone need $76 billion worth of repairs, and much of that is due to rust. But it also hits us at the more personal level, most obviously in our cars, but also with tools and appliances.
Whenever you get iron, water and oxygen together, you get rust. So the best way to prevent it is to keep them apart; that's what paint does, or the spray-on wax and oil coatings that the car protection companies sell. Keep your tools dry; wipe down your bike after a ride; keep the water away and it can't rust.
The acid treatment
If you have got rust that you want to get rid of, there are a couple of methods, mostly involving some form of acid. In the home you can use lemon juice (citric acid) or vinegar (acetic acid). Apartment Therapy offered a few recipes including one I had never heard of, with some interesting side benefits:
Salt + Lime: Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the rust, then squeeze the lime over the salt until it is soaking. Let the mixture sit for 2-3 hours and then remove the rust with the lime rind. This can also be done with a lemon. We like the salt and lime a little more because they double as margarita ingredients as well
Other acidic solutions include lemon juice and vinegar. Both Apartment Therapy and the Farmers' Almanac recommend potatoes, suggesting that this is particularly good with knives. "Sprinkle a little salt or baking soda onto the potato and then rub it over the rust spot, or just insert the knife into a potato and let it sit. The oxalic acid in the potato helps to dissolve the rust."
In Russia, they use Coca-Cola; it's the phosphoric acid.
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