Hydrochloric Acid Question

[patgspot]

Hi Everyone,

I was wondering why my HC1 is colored yellow right out of the bottle. I've noticed that Steves acid is crystal clear out of the bottle. Is there something wrong with the type acid I have? Is the color an indication that my acid is losing its potency? I'd just like to know before I use this and find out it's no longer any good.

Thanks,
Pat G.

 

[cloomis]

not sure ,what brand is it? never had hc turn yellow in bottle.

 

[lazersteve]

Pat,

HCl tends to yellow with age or on exposure to sunlight. Another possiblity is that some muriatic acid contains slight amounts of iron as an impurity.

I would guess that your muriatic is old.

It should still work okay, but in my opinion the fresher the better.

Steve

 

[goldsilverpro]

Do you mean HCl or do you mean muriatic acid? The only differences between the two are purity and concentration. All the HCl I've ever bought, no matter what grade, was water clear. Muriatic often has a yellow tinge to it. I've never tested it, but I understand it is due to iron contamination. Just a small amount and it never caused me any problems.

 

[patgspot]

Thanks everyone that answered my question about HCI. It's yellow because of the Iron in it. A friend of mine who plasters pools bought 23 gallons of it and gave me one. All 23 gallons were yellow like that. Must be the brand. Thanks again.

Regards,
Pat G.