Header banner
Revain logoHome Page
Audrey Caldwell photo
1 Level
532 Review
0 Karma

Review on ๐Ÿงผ Powerful Cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend: 12-Oz Cleanser and Polish, 2-Pack! by Audrey Caldwell

Revainrating 5 out of 5

Great science at work!

This is amazing! It removes limescale and deposits in showers/faucets/toilets like nothing else I've used. With proper cleaning, this product will exceed all your expectations and make you think of new uses, such as: B. cleaning tools and equipment that are a bit rusty. It brought back the shine to old faucets that I never wanted to look decent again. As a retired chemist, I am always interested in great home cleaning products and how they work. One of the active ingredients in Bar Keepers Friend is oxalic acid, an extremely powerful chelating agent that I know from the lab. Without going into details, the chelating agent binds very strongly to metals (magnesium, calcium, iron, etc.). Since limescale in the bathroom consists mainly of magnesium carbonate with a small amount of calcium carbonate, oxalic acid reacts with the limescale, sucks out the metal and converts the carbonate into carbon dioxide (gas), causing the limescale to magically disappear. In case you are interested, the chemical reaction between oxalic acid and magnesium carbonate is: HOOCCOOH + MgCO3 -> MgOOCCOO + CO2 + H2O. Similarly, rust is an oxide of iron, and oxalic acid combines with the iron, breaking down the rust and making it go away when washed off. Oxalic acid is a strong chemical and it is highly recommended that you wear gloves and avoid breathing it. or getting it in your mouth or eyes. The cleaning precautions you would take with any strong cleaning agent (e.g. bleach) are recommended for oxalic acid.

Pros
  • Health & Household
Cons
  • old