Oxalic Acid

[allesnick 14]

I purchased some Oxalic acid from my local pool company and it works great on rust stains and fencing, however after reading the MSDS sheet on it , it looks like some pretty dangerous stuff to handle. Does this stuff come in different strenghts. I used to run an environmental company and part of my job was training employees on reading MSDS sheets and safe handling procedures for chemicals and although most MSDS sheets can be somewhat alarming, the one on Oxalic seem to be really over the top. Right now it's only me and my 2 sons running the business but I look to hire a couple people in the spring. For the time being I switched to Rid Rust which I get at my local John Deere distributor which is probably a watered down version. It cost about $6 a gallon seems to work as well on rust, never tried on fencing and it doesn't appear to be as hazardous to handle. It has some type of acid in it, not sure if it's oxalic. Buying Oxalic straight is cheaper and very effective, I'm not sure it's worth the risk. What are some other peopls thougts on this product and do you take extra precautions when handling. Thanks for any input.

[Camelot 68]

In its powdered form, I find Oxalic pretty easy to handle. You can adjust the strength by diluting it with water...

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

No matter what chemical you use and regardless of what strength, I hope you are using PPE. (gloves, pvc pants, pvc coat, rubber boots and respirators or masks)

Rod!~

[MudDuck 20]

No matter what chemical you use and regardless of what strength, I hope you are using PPE. (gloves, pvc pants, pvc coat, rubber boots and respirators or masks)

Rod!~

I normally just have shorts on....:zip2::sonic:

[MMI Enterprises 289]

A splash here a busted hose there and you can be scarred or damaged internally for life by many chems we use. Gloves, glasses, waders is my usual but I don't use ox extensively. If you got a rust removal branded product then read the safety precautions they recommend. Might be ox in it, could be phosphoric. No matter what it is best practice is to keep from touching or getting it on you in any dilution. Even stuff said to be biodegradable or like totally safe I avoid like the plague. Examples like simple green or purple power or floor strippers or most anything butyl based for instance are bad too. When you've had contact as much as I have to such chems for over 20 years of practicing basically a level of ignorance you can seriousely develop skin reactions or alergy to them at the slightest touch or even being in their pressence. Imagine what such stuff does intenally at such point that a body would react to it on the outside. I view my skins reaction as a bodies way of protecting itself from things we think are safe or natural but aren't. The skin after all is like the bodies largest organ and is really hooked in with important roll. I prefure raw stuff and view them safer in some respects as they are more natural without tons of unknown factors involved in their manufacture or inert stuff that doesn't require declaration. Least I know what it is. That said, some stuffs as acids will attack organs like liver or the bones and can wreck ya.

Don't touch it, don't breathe it...use it proper dilution with ventalation and proper PPE.

[douseahouse 21]

good info on the safety guys. i was going to mix up some house wash and needed a container. i had a little bit of ox in a 5'er so i poured it out and started to add my shc. apparently there was a little bit of ox in the bottom because the shc immediately came bubbling out of the top and the fumes were extremely strong. i hacked most of the day and definitely learned a lesson there that ox and shc do not like to share the same container.

my bad,

rando

[schrec 64]

My brother got oa in his eyes. Screamin his head off. Flushed his face he was fine.

no ppe. BUT USE A DUST RESPIRATOR. and dont let it get in any cuts, any chem hurts like hell.

[Christopher 102]

No matter what the chems or strength, you should always use the correct PPE because you just never know and accidents do happen.

I do not use the Oxalic here much because I have not had good luck with it on both rust and fertilizer stains. When I do try it out, I use the PPE to be safe because it is both an acid and a poison.

Always be safe.

_________________

Superior Power Washing

Chris Chappell

Exterior House Cleaning in Corpus Christi Texas

Edited January 4, 2009 by Christopher

[DAVID V 22]

Chris, what kind of rust did you use it on?

It's great for irrigation rust.