How to Clean Hard Water Stains With Hydrochloric Acid
- 1). Use hydrochloric acid cleaners only as a last resort. They are corrosive and can cause damage to pipes, tile grout, and pipe sealant. Try agents such as TLC, before resorting to hydrochloric acid. They may require more elbow grease, otherwise known as scrubbing, but they may solve your water stain issues without exposing yourself to chemicals or harmful fumes.
- 2). Protect yourself by wearing rubber gloves, eye goggles, and breathing masks. Acids of any kind can produce harmful fumes, burn your skin, and cause blindness if splattered into your eyes.
- 3). Use only diluted hydrochloric acid. Many popular water stain cleaners contain hydrochloric acid. Do not dilute the acid yourself.
- 4). Apply the acid solution to trouble areas. Areas that cannot be cleaned through scrubbing or less aggressive chemicals, are considered trouble areas.
- 5). Allow the acid solution to sit on the hard water stain for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- 6). Wipe away excess solution with paper towels. Use a steel wool pad, or kitchen scrub pad, to scour the area that was covered with the acid solution. Dispose of paper towels, scrub pads, rubber gloves, breathing masks, and other items by placing them in a garbage bag. Seal the garbage bag with a knot, and placing the garbage bag in a garbage receptacle.
- 7). Rinse the cleaned area with room temperature water. Small amounts of hydrochloric acid can be washed down the drain. Large amounts cannot. This is why you wipe any excess acid away before rinsing.
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