The post on what people clean traps with got me thinking about what we should expect out of boiling traps with various cleaners/chemicals. For example, what should we expect to remove by boiling with dish washing detergent?

I have used drain cleaner for general boiling to clean oils from new and old traps as well as dirt. Then if I wanted to remove speed dip, the only thing thing I could find that would do it was soaking in gasoline (no boiling that one). And if something was really rusty, I would soak it in a mix of 3-4/1 water and muriatic acid to disolve rust (and this works very fast so be careful you disolve half of what's holding some of your old traps together).

Both the gas and acid soaks require a lot of careful handling, gloves, safety gogles and good rinsing and then boiling again. They work, but it's awfully time consuming and I'm worried about the chemical handling and storage and disposal.

I've tried Cocacola to clean rust as well as viniger and both work but can take days for the same results.

What are other people's thoughts on how to clean these things and what other metheods there may be.

"what should we expect to remove by boiling with dish washing detergent?

Be careful here. There is a remarkable difference between dish washing detergent and dishwasher detergent. The former is mild enough to soak your hands in while doing the dishes. Dishwasher detergent is designed to work inside a dishwasher. It is much stronger.

Lye, drain cleaners, dishwasher detergent and the like are used to clean dirt and organic materials from the surface of traps. They will not remove rust, paint, or "dips" either water or petroleum based.

The acids you mentioned, dilute hydrochloric (muratic) and dilute acetic (vinegar), can be used to actually clean rust off of traps. Muratic is fast acting but must be neutralized after you use it. This means boiling the trap in a base solution. This could be any of the cleaning compounds mentioned above. You could also use a heavy solution of baking soda in boiling water to neutralize acid soaked traps. Frankly, I think the average person would be better off using the vinegar soak even if it does take a few days.

Dips are another matter entirely. You can remove most petroleum based dips by soaking the traps is gasoline, then use a paint brush to lightly brush over the trap, this will wash away most of the dip. Another option for removing dips, and possibly the only option for removing water based dips, is to tumble the traps in a cement mixer loaded with sand and/or gravel. (I hope someone else will comment on this as I haven't used that method personally.)

-- Hal

I have personally removed the water based dips by soaking them in the previously mentioned vinegar solution.Took most of it off just soaking.Then what little that was left on came right off with the garden hose.

JD-

I tested some F1 for Newt when he first put it on the market.The only way I could get it off was with the cement mixer,gravel/sand routine.Nothing else touched it.Note that these were new traps I used for the test.I had a good bond between the F1 and the metal (no rust).On a trap with some rust I suspect the acid solution gets under the F1 and disolves the rust destroying the bond and letting the F1 come off.
Before resorting to the cement mixer,I tried all the other previously mentioned options.None of them worked

Thanks Hal. I've never gotten a clear answer on this and it's greatly apprciated. I did mean dishwasher detergent (but I didn't know it was that strong). Also, as I still have some muriatic acid left and will probrably use it at some point, would baking soda be a good way to nuetralize the mix before dumping?

Ric, I've had a lot of used traps that I think who ever owned them before may have used some of these dips especially the water based because gas didn't take it off, but the acid soak did so I assume that the dip was put on over rust as you mentioned. I had come to the conclusion that if it wasn't going to come off with all that, then it probrably wasn't going to come of on the line.

Thanks Again.

I use Bix brand paint, stain and varnish remover to remove old dip from my traps. Just paint it on let it set a few minutes and the old dip comes right off. (I use speed dip not the F1 so I don't know if it will work with that)

I use acids extensively for a variety of reasons. Clearly, you are well advised to neutralize strong acids to prevent untoward effects of residual acid on metal or whatever. However, I see no compelling reason to boil in a base. Rather, I would rinse the traps either by diping them in a series of containers of clean water followed by a short soak in a dilute base or rinse them for a couple of minuets with a hose before a short base soak. Either of these procedures will work very well and will eliminate the need for an additional boiling pot.

One would think that would be the case, however....

A few years back, I "derusted" a bunch of used traps with muratic acid.

When I was done, I rinsed then thoroughly. Then I soaked them in a cold baking soda solution, and rinsed them again.

They continued to rust -- profusely!!!

I believe it was possibly hygroscopic salts that had worked their way in to the pores of the steel. That's why I now recommend boiling the traps after you are finished with them.

-- Hal

Hmmmm. Sodium bicarb is a salt...I would have neutralize in a dilute base...then rinsed again. You would still be faced with the salt issue...I dono how you screwed it up! :rolleyes:

I screwed up by using a strong acid as a derusting agent, then not boiling the traps clean after I was done. I thought I had indicated that above.

Hal