How To Clean Rust

Maid in Essex

 rust

Rust stains are among the hardest to remove, but getting your metal work looking shiny and new can be really rewarding and give it a new lease of life.  There are numerous different rust cleaning methods, but some work better than others. Below, we have selected the most popular ones.

For rust stains on clothing  try the following:

 

1. Lemon juice

lemonsApply the juice to the stained area but try not to allow drying . Rinse it with water afterwards and launder the item at the end. If lemon juice alone does not work, try adding salt to the juice and allow to react with the stain for 24 hours. Refresh the lemon juice to keep the spot damp. Blot clean before laundering. 

2. Undiluted vinegar

vinegarSoak the affected/stained area in white vinegar and leave it for a while; wash the garment straight after. Leave it to soak for a long as possible, and again try to keep the garment wet.  You may need to launder the garment a couple of times after soaking to alleviate the smell of the vinegar.

3. Cream of tartar

dr-oetker-cream-of-tartar-140gr
Wet the garment and cover the stain entirely with a layer of cream of tartar. Allow the garment to sit and launder as usual.To use salt and cream of tarter, simply make a mixture using equal parts of both.Lay your garment on a flat surface on top of a towel and spread your cream of tarter and salt mixture onto the rust stain. This time place your garment somewhere warm to dry. If the rust stain has lifted, launder the shirt, if not, repeat the process.

When it comes to rusted metal, try these methods:

 

1. Coca Cola

coke-riedel-hed-2014
The fizzy drink is well known for its ability to remove rust. Dip a cloth in the drink and rub the rusted area hard. Smaller items could be dropped into a glass of Coca Cola in order to get theses rid of the rust and make it all sparkly again.

In fact Coca Cola is much more than just a fizzy drink, it has many uses as a cleaning agent – we’ll come on to that in another Blog.

2. Baking soda

Add a little water to some baking soda, just enough to make a paste. Apply the paste on affected surfaces and wait till it becomes dirty or gets dry. Repeat the procedure but do not rub too hard to avoid damaging the surface.

Baking soda is another product that has many applications as a cleaning solution.  Its natural, not too abrasive and cheap and easy to buy. 

3. Emery paper and onions

brown-onion

Emery paper is a type of sandpaper that can be used for sanding down hard and rough surfaces. Fine emery paper should be used for this cleaning method. For extra efficiency, the emery paper should be slightly damp before you start rubbing the affected metal. Rub the surface with a slice of onion afterwards and rinse at the end. Use a soft cloth to dry the metal when you finish.

The onion acts as a cleaning agent and brings up a shine on metalwork.  As with vinegar, be sure to wipe the surfaces down well afterwards to avoid smells permeating.

Tags: Billericay, brentwood, cleaners, domestic cleaners, essex, Ironing, stain removal