1 Jul
2008
1 Jul
'08
1:27 a.m.
On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 11:16:29PM +0200, Jochen Kunz wrote:
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:35:05 +0100 (BST)
ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote:
Yes. Actually I use the special photo stuff with ph-indicator. But simple citric acid from
the drug store does as well. It is much cheaper then the photo stuff. Unfortunately I got
this knowledge after I had purchased the photo stuff already.
Simply grab yourself a large bag (a few kg) of food grade citric acid (I
got a 5 kg bag from EBay 3 years bag - I still have enough left despite
using it liberally for cleaning). It should be pure enough for the job.
Incidentally, I found some acetic acid (fairly
concentrated too), in
the 'Kosher' section of the local supermarket. I have no idea what
the intended application of it is, but it's quite useful for cleaning
up NiCd corrosion too.
Well. Actually acetic acid is the acid in vinegar. Most
likely this
stuff is just pure acetic acid without any "flavor".
Remember: If you are going to dilute concentrated acid _allways_ pour the acid into
water. Never do it the other way around. Pouring water into concentrated acid may cause
the water to heat up quite quick. High enough to make the water boil instantly. The result
are drops of water and concentrated acid jumping around. Preferably onto your skin and
into your eyes...
(I use
citric acid in the dark room because it doesn't smell.)
As a stop bath? Coca Cola should work too as it contains phosphoric
acid. (For cleaning. I am surely not going to dip my fibre based photo paper in Coke. ;-)
)
*yrch*
Coca Cola might work due the phosporic acid - but it also contains an
enormous amount of sugar. So you might have removed the alkali from the
board, but now it is coated in a sticky sugary mixture ... better stick
with pure citric acid and clean water ;-)
Obviously all this stuff works great to remove chalky
deposit caused by
water evaporation. E.g. on the water cooling of your mainframe - or
your coffee machine or tee kettle.
Yep - half a centimetre of chalk buildup in a water kettle? No problem,
just fill up with water, add several large heaped spoons of citric acid,
boil, wait and rinse. Clean ;-)
Regards,
Alex.
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison