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An Ounce of Prevention, a Pound of Cure
Issue: Issue 173
Posted Date: 5/8/2007
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An Ounce of Prevention, a Pound of Cure
An answer in the QandA section suggested making a 10 percent solution of oxalic acid, and a followup explained where to buy it. That led to a bit of confusion on the part of this reader. – Editor
"The size of oxalic acid containers is about a pound. A 10 percent solution should be about five quarts of water to dissolve one pound of oxalic acid. That's not a very realistic ratio for the home shop user. Could you offer a more practical combination of oxalic acid and water?" – Rich Flynn
Sure. Oxalic acid is sold as a granulated powder, and yes, it usually comes in one pound containers. For that matter, so does coffee, but most folks don't mix the whole pound of coffee with water all at once. For a 10 percent solution, simply mix one part oxalic acid with nine parts water. That works whether "parts" are ounces, teaspoons, pounds or tanker cars. – Editor