# Need some information about using Muratic acid.



## Mailman1960 (Mar 26, 2022)

I do know it's important to be careful with it. 
Can you reuse it.
Should you use it full strength.
Does it matter how long you leave it in. 
Any other tips would be appreciated.


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## UncleBruce (Mar 26, 2022)

I reuse mine until it gets to dirty.  I have used it full strength, but I usually dilute it, so a bottle is covered when in the bucket. The time it takes to remove deposits varies on how much is there. You will just have to experiment to learn.  Don't do this in a closed room the fumes can be bad for your health.  I do this outside.  Keep clean water handy and get a good pair of rubber gloves.  Not the kind for cleaning in the kitchen, but those will work they just break down quickly.


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## Mailman1960 (Mar 27, 2022)

UncleBruce said:


> I reuse mine until it gets to dirty.  I have used it full strength, but I usually dilute it, so a bottle is covered when in the bucket. The time it takes to remove deposits varies on how much is there. You will just have to experiment to learn.  Don't do this in a closed room the fumes can be bad for your health.  I do this outside.  Keep clean water handy and get a good pair of rubber gloves.  Not the kind for cleaning in the kitchen, but those will work they just break down quickly.


Thanks for your response, very helpful. I've been experimenting, had some good results but thought I'm not the first person to do this and again this sight came through. Some day I might be helpful to someone. 3 yrs. In.
                                         Giddy up


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## embe (Mar 27, 2022)

Safety glasses or a face shield also a good idea.  Some people add the water to acid and it'll splash, so recommend adding the acid to water if diluting.


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## Harry Pristis (Mar 27, 2022)

*Always.  Acid to water.*


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## bottle-o-pop (Mar 28, 2022)

Muriatic is a name for low-quality hydrochloric acid. By low-quality, I don't mean low strength. It is just not very purified. It's good for cleaning mortar off of bricks.

In my opinion, muriatic acid is only good for removing some kinds of colorless stains from ground water, and those same stains can be removed by white vinegar, which is much safer to handle.

Muriatic acid will not remove cloudiness from glass, since that cloudiness is the result of missing glass that was removed by ground water over time. Acid cannot put back missing glass.

I believe that a very strong acid like muriatic acid could start to break down the structure of low-grade glass, like ground water does. In my opinion, if the muriatic acid doesn't remove your stain within a few minutes, then leaving it on or in for days or weeks won't remove any further stains. It's better to just try some white vinegar, which is less likely to damage glass, not nearly as dangerous to handle, and will remove 99% as much mineral deposits as muriatic acid will.

The only case in which I would use resort to muriatic acid is if I had a bottle that had large pieces of cement or mortar stuck on it, or perhaps barnacles.

Yes, I am trying to discourage you from using muriatic acid for bottle cleaning. You don't need to use an acid that is so strong and dangerous. Safety first!

If you have iron stain, it is good to use Naval Jelly (or other brand names) which has phosphoric acid as the active ingredient, and a jelly formulation that keeps the product from flowing off your rusted item too quickly for it to work. The Naval Jelly type of product is formulated to convert iron rust into a compound that can be washed off with water. The point here is that phosphoric acid is strong, but much less dangerous to handle than muriatic acid.

For quick bottle cleaning, I recommend Barkeepers Friend powder (or their thick liquid product) and a brass bottle brush. The reason I recommend these two things is that Barkeepers Friend has scouring effect, but the particular scouring material in it is not as hard as glass, and a real brass brush (NOT brass-plated steel!) is also recommendable because brass is also not as hard as glass. So, neither Barkeepers Friend nor brass can remove any of your glass. Hand-scrub all you want with them. They will, of course, not fix cloudiness that's because of missing glass!


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## Mailman1960 (Mar 28, 2022)

bottle-o-pop said:


> Muriatic is a name for low-quality hydrochloric acid. By low-quality, I don't mean low strength. It is just not very purified. It's good for cleaning mortar off of bricks.
> 
> In my opinion, muriatic acid is only good for removing some kinds of colorless stains from ground water, and those same stains can be removed by white vinegar, which is much safer to handle.
> 
> ...


I will take before and after,  not sure what caused what I'm trying to get rid of. I'll try vinegar and acid and post results. All information is appreciated.


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## bottle-o-pop (Mar 28, 2022)

That sounds like an excellent experiment!
Just be sure the bottles are bone dry when taking the before and after photos.
I might find myself buying some muriatic acid after your experiment!


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## Mailman1960 (Mar 30, 2022)

bottle-o-pop said:


> That sounds like an excellent experiment!
> Just be sure the bottles are bone dry when taking the before and after photos.
> I might find myself buying some muriatic acid after your experiment!


I always clean bottles I find thoroughly, using muriatic acid didn't make much if any difference. Lighting different but it doesn't matter


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## oddant (Mar 30, 2022)

I have used muriatic and equal. amount of water to remove rust from rusty iron or tin items.  But don't leave it in the acid for more than a day or two. When using muriatic do not breathe near it. Hold your breath when near it.


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