Home Remedies To Clean Rust From Metal

Commercial rust removers often are used to clean the rust off of metal. However some of the corrosive or caustic ingredients in these solutions can cause damage to a metal object or surface. Worse yet, they can cause damage to you health.

Therefore, people are looking for more natural solutions that involve the mixture of common household ingredients. One disadvantage is that using these home ingredients can take longer to accomplish the same job and/or may require a little bit more human force or effort, but they do the job.

Plain vinegar-This natural substance is one of the milder forms of natural cleaning solutions that may be effective on some of the lesser severe cases of rust problems. You can start out by placing whatever metal objects you want to clean in a bucket to soak with pure vinegar.

After and during this soak you can then periodically scrub the items in the bucket with a brush that has stiff bristles. You should then rinse the loosen rust off with plain water. If you want, you can use a dry fiber-free cloth or paper towel to shine the surface, in the event the object is something like a shower head

Vinegar and salt-The acidic properties of vinegar alone are very helpful. However, adding salt to the mixture increases the potency of this cleaning solution. First you would pour some pure vinegar over the rust. Then, you would generously sprinkle the salt over the rusted metal. This should sit in the sun for awhile and then you should add more vinegar and salt as the original application dries. You can then wipe with a dry cloth to remove the remaining loose rust and also rinse with water and dry to shine.

Lemon drink mix-Unsweetened lemon-flavored drink mix can do wonders on rust, unbelievably. It is because of the citric acid in this solution. In fact, you could use just about any citric acid-based drink mix or juice. It really does away with rust and corrosion quite nicely with a little bit of effort on your part.

You would begin this task by mixing 2 quarts worth of the drink mix to create your “cleaning solution.” However, instead of putting the measured amount of mix into the 2-quart water pitcher you can instead mix it into a half gallon of boiled water.

In any case, you should make sure that the drink powder solution is completely dissolved. Then, dip a stiff-bristled brush into this solution and begin scrubbing. A mild amount of force on the scrub brush is probably all you need as too hard of pressure could possibly cause damage to the metal.

Sun, Lemon Juice, and Salt-Pure lemon juice is another substance that has citric acid in it, and when mixed with salt it can become a very powerful force against rust. To make this task easier, you could put the lemon juice into a spray bottle, but you can also just pour the juice over the metal.

You should then afterwards spray the salt over the same area. This solution should then sit in direct sunlight for awhile but you should check on it once in awhile. As the lemon juice begins to dry, add more lemon juice to it and then add more salt t and let it sit and/or start scrubbing.

You can repeat this entire process in a few hours if you feel it is necessary. After you are done wipe away all the remainders of the loose rust with a dry towel, but first you may want to rinse with water.