How to Remove Rust stains from Plastic

          Have you ever experienced that infuriating feeling when you realize that your plastic buckets, tubs or other containers have been stained with rust? The infuriation heightens when you come to know that your usual house cleaners are unable to get out these reddish brown stains from your plastic containers.

          This rust may be a result of some plumbing issue, source of water and condition of water pipes. Whatever the reason might be the fact remains that common soap and water are unable to break these rust particles and remove them.

          Therefore, to treat these stains, we provide you with specialized home remedies which are put together, keeping in context with the chemical nature of these iron oxide particles aka rust stains. Follow the directions given below and hopefully you will end up with a clean and stain free plastic surface.

Method One (Using White Vinegar)

         The following method makes use of white vinegar for the removal of rust stains from plastic surfaces. The acetic acid present inside vinegar reacts with the iron oxide present in rust and thus prompts it to come off, eventually leading to effective stain removal.

 Things that you will require:

· 2 clean cloths/ rags

· A bucket

· Sponge

· White vinegar

· Rubber gloves

· Old tooth brush

Steps that you need to take:

1.    First of all you need to take a bucket and fill it up with white vinegar.

2.   Next, take hold of a clean rag or sponge and dip it in the bucket filled with vinegar.

3.   Allow the cloth or sponge to completely soak in vinegar and leave it lying there for almost half an hour.

4.   Once this time span is over, take out this vinegar-soaked cloth/ sponge. You can wring or squeeze it to remove excess moisture.

5.   After squeezing out all the excess vinegar, place this vinegar soaked cloth onto the rust stained area.

6.   For effective application, leave it lying on the stained area for almost half an hour.

7.   Afterwards, start rubbing the stain with this very cloth.

8.   You can also consider using an old tooth brush to work onto the stain if it is stubborn and set in deeply. Moreover, for persistent stains, you can repeat this process of soaking the cloth in vinegar and placing it on the stained area.

9.      Once, you are sure that the stain has gone satisfactorily, rinse it with clean water and allow the plastic surface to air dry.

Tip:

         Placing the stained plastic container in a well- ventilated area before embarking upon the cleaning process is a good option. This is done so that the strong odor of white vinegar gets dispersed.

                    

Method Two (Using Rhubarb Leaves)

       Rhubarb leaves are said to contain oxalic acid and oxalic acid is known to be pretty helpful when it comes to the removal of rust stains from plastic. Follow the steps below for a successful removal of rust stains.

Things that you will require:

· Rhubarb leaves

· Water

· stove

· Tooth brush

· Clean cloth

Steps that you need to take:

1.    Primarily you need to get hold of rhubarb leaves. Next, you need to boil these leaves in water so that their essence comes out into water. In other words this water will now be containing oxalic acid.

2.    Now, either you can soak a cloth in this water and use it to clean the rust stain or  pour this solution in the stained plastic container, and then work onto it with the help of a tooth brush.

3.    In any of the either cases, keep scrubbing the stain until it disappears.

4.    Finally, rinse the stain with cold water and allow it to air dry.

Warnings

· Oxalic acid is dangerous so don’t forget to wear protective glasses and gloves, while handling this acid water.

· Phosphoric acid can also be resorted to in intense situations; however there is a great probability that this acid would cause the rust stain to go black; therefore sticking with acetic acid (vinegar) and citric acid (lemon) is a safer option.

· Muriatic acid can also yield positive results when it comes to rust stain removal.