Why does acid clean pennies

The pennies looked dull and dirty because they were covered with copper oxide. Copper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt-and vinegar is an acid. You could also clean your pennies with salt and lemon juice or orange juice, because those juices are acids, too. When the vinegar and salt dissolve the copper-oxide layer, they make it easier for the copper atoms to join oxygen from the air and chlorine from the salt to make a blue-green compound called malachite.

To understand how the nail and screw got coated with copper, you need to understand a little bit more about atoms. Atoms are made up of even smaller particles called protons, neutrons, and electrons. Electrons and protons are both electrically charged particles. Electrons are negatively charged and protons are positively charged.

Negative charges attract positive charges, so electrons attract protons. When you put your dirty pennies in the vinegar and salt, the copper oxide and some of the copper dissolve in the water. That means some copper atoms leave the penny and start floating around in the liquid. But when these copper atoms leave the penny, they leave some of their electrons behind.

Rather than having whole copper atoms in the liquid, you've got copper ions, copper atoms that are missing two electrons. These ions are positively charged. Now add two steel nails and a screw to the mixture.

Steel is a metal made by combining iron, other metals, and carbon. As you found out when you cleaned your pennies, your mixture of salt and vinegar is really good at dissolving metals and metal oxides.

Can orange juice clean a penny? Copper oxide dissolves in a mixture of weak acid and table salt-and vinegar is an acid. You could also clean your pennies with salt and lemon juice or orange juice, because those juices are acids, too.

Why does salt help clean a penny? The salt is added to vinegar to speed up the process. Cooper Oxide base reacts with acids to form water and copper salts. Why do pennies turn green in vinegar? When you add vinegar and salt to pennies, it dissolves the top copper-oxide layer of the penny.

This causes the copper atoms to mix with oxygen in the air and chlorine in the salt. This creates a blue-green substance known as malachite. It's chemistry in action! How do you clean pennies without losing their value? Place the coins in a solution of dish soap and water. If you have a particularly dirty coin, you can allow it to soak in the solution.

A non-abrasive liquid solvent like distilled water and a weak soap will have enough cleaning power to clean your coins, and does not contain acids that can corrode them. Is Citric Acid dangerous? Citric acid is naturally found in citrus fruits, but synthetic versions — produced from a type of mold — are commonly added to foods, medicines, supplements, and cleaning agents.

The second reason is, copper pipe in swimming pools is susceptible to harsh water conditions where water typically is too acidic, corroding holes in the pipe. Copper pipe in swimming pools always seems to leech that green patina, stain surfaces in pools when water is not balanced correctly. If you do find excessive copper in your pool water, then you need to add a copper sequestering or chelating agent.

This binds with the copper molecules to bring them out of solution, where they can be vacuumed and filtered out of your pool water. It is used to kill algae as well as a variety of water pests such as bacteria, fungi, snails and weeds. Copper is an effective algae killer, but its use is not without risk.

A greenish tinge to swimming pool water may indicate the presence of dissolved copper. In a swimming pool, copper can build up after time because it is not removed by the filtration system. Fortunately, you can prevent copper from building up through the proper use of chemicals. We recommend keeping the copper ion level in the range of 0. With the ClearBlue Ionizer, it is impossible for the copper to go above 0. Removing copper from pool water Customers with large copper stains should consider using CuLator Metal Eliminator in addition to our treatment.

This product will remove copper from the water to help prevent the stain from reappearing later. Copper Test Strips Testing the copper level of your pool is fast and easy with test strips. Copper level test strips are the easiest way to test. Here are some general instructions or testing your pool with test strips. Make sure your pool is open if you have a cover.

The two most popular ways of testing pool chemicals are pool test strips and pool testing kits. Whether you use a kit or a strip, it should measure chlorine and pH levels. The digital pH reading is the most accurate one and some Health Departments use digital testers themselves also.

ORP is a fantastic way to test if the water is at the safest level to swim in. The salt and acetic acid in vinegar do the trick. Hot Sauce Hot sauce, like Tabasco or taco sauce, also will remove the oxides off pennies. As in ketchup, salt and vinegar are both in hot sauce. Coke Coke and off-brand colas will quickly remove the tarnish. Just don't drink the coke afterward. Coke contains phosphoric acid that cleans the oxides.

Citrus Juice Try a variety of citrus juices to see which works best or simply let your pennies soak in lemon juice.