Most of our most treasured tools are made of metal. Some of these tools have served us for many years but in time all metal rusts so we either need to dispose of our loyal companions, or we need to somehow remove the rust. Personally, I’m a bit sentimental, so I never throw away a tool unless I absolutely have to and I know there is absolutely no way I can revive it and put it to work again. Lucky for me (and you, if you don’t like throwing away your tools), it’s really easy to remove rust, and I don’t mean with just store-bought materials but with home made solutions, as well. You don’t need to throw away a lot of money in order to get the rust off your favourite tools (or whatever). I will keep both options open because I want you to make an informed decision in the end.

Removing Rust with Vinegar

White vinegar is what you might call “a super cleaner”. It can be used in many cleaning scenarios and getting rid of rust is one of them. There are two options here (and certain variations) – you can either use white vinegar or normal vinegar. Normal vinegar would be stronger, and cleaning the rust in the end will require less effort. However, the smell is really bad, so there’s that.

White vinegar, on the other hand, is less potent but it doesn’t smell that badly, either. I personally prefer this option even thought it involves more scrubbing, but hey, that’s just me.

Best case scenario is you can soak the tool (or whatever object you wish to remove the rust from) in the vinegar (whatever your choice may be). This way the vinegar will have more time to activate its acidic properties and bond with the rust, thus removing it from the metal. All you have to do after that is scrub the rust off. If the object you wish to cleanse is too big to be soaked, then pour vinegar directly on it. Give it some time to sit (you can even repeat the process several times) and wash it off with a vinegar soaked rag. This should be enough to remove the rust.

Lime and Salt

Tequila time! Or at least you can use the leftovers of the cleaning to drink tequila with. Lime and salt is a great rust removing combination, especially for smaller objects. Just spread as much salt over the object as you can and then squeeze the lime on top of it. Make sure you get as much juice as you can and let it sit for a few hours. If you don’t have lime, you can use an ordinary lemon, but where is the fun in that? Scrub the formed substance off the object. This should be a potent enough solution to remove the rust. Make sure to treat carefully, though, because you don’t want to damage your belongings.

Store-Bought Products

So, I hear you’re hell-bent on using those store-bought, invasive chemicals to remove the rust. You don’t really need my help to figure out how to use them – just read the instructions. It’s all there. However, I do want to warn you about a few things before you make this decision.

First of all, since these things remove dust, you know they are dangerous for your skin. Take precautions when using them and be extra careful. Unlike homemade solutions, these chemicals are dangerous and react quite quickly. They can also be rather expensive, and in the end you might end up scrubbing a lot harder than with one of the other solutions I have proposed. You have been warned.

Author Bio: July Minor has many years of experience and a lot of skills for cleaning. She works as a manager of http://www.shinylondon.co.uk/carpet-cleaning-woolwich-se18/ and she loves to tell stories from her work.