s.o.s. countertop

[alex1402]

Ok you guys, I've really done it now. I was doing some silver washing in the kitchen and this morning I found multiple purple nitric stains all over my kitchen counter. It is the basic material...vinyl? I have tried softscrub, clorox, the magic sponge and no help. Suggestions? I'm going to get killed for this one. I am really in the dog house. Please help. Thanks

 

[Lou]

It's silver. Thiosulfate will remove it.

FYI, you shouldn't be working with this stuff in your kitchen.

 

[alex1402]

Lou,

Thank you so much. I have learned! It was storming outside and I was board - my bad.

 

[Justincase]

That is such a nice thing to see.
Some very helpful advice followed by a nice under stated warning,which is why I like it here so much.

 

[Claudie]

No way would I ever take Nitric in the house.

 

[heliman4141]

Really?
You actually brought that dangerious nasty smelling poison into your home with no ventilation to keep the home clear of fumes? :shock:
Yes, your seriously in the doghouse both here & at home. Sounds like a You tube I watched once............. :|
Never ever do that again, what if you had stumbled & spilled it all over the kitchen or dropped it & broke the vessel? Good Lord man.
First rule of Safety always keep any refining out of the living spaces at all times period, even just final rinses.

Dave

 

[kadriver]

I had a silver nitrate stain on my finger once.

Accidentally splashed a drop of 40% H2O2 on the same spot on my finger and it almost instantly removed the silver nitrate stain from my finger.

I wouldn't be putting 40% hydrogen peroxide (bought it at Sally's Beauty Supply) on my skin intentionally as it burns and turns the skin white.

I don't know if hydrogen peroxide will do the same on your counter top.

kadriver

 

[Eamonn]

I have the same problem. I've tried every thing to clean the stains but nothing worked. I even tried thiosulphate because I'm sure this worked many years ago when I was cleaning our lab benches.
As this thread has confirmed that thiosulphate should work I will try it again.Might be somthing wrong with the solution.

Thanks
Eamonn

 

[rickbb]

I have stains all over my counter top and have no intention of trying to get them out.

But then it's a counter that I made specifically for using out in my shop under my fume hood just for this purpose and expected to get stains on it.

 

[solar_plasma]

Are you guys sure, you really meant thiosulphate? Thiosulphate will dissolve silver chloride. If you want to dissolve silver, it will work in combination with copper sulphate at defined ORP and pH, - we have some threads about it (THIOSULFATE LEACHING OF GOLD--A REVIEW, M.G. AYLMORE and D.M. MUIR)

Used as a fixer, sodium thiosulphate will dissolve unexposed silver halogenides, the elemental silver will stay.

I will not advise to do anything, especially since we are talking about your kitchen. I can only say, what I would do, if this happened in our lab on (more or less) acid resistant boards: I would take some very diluted HNO3 on some for example glas wool, remove the stains from the board....or glass or whatever and then neutralize everything with a weak base like Na2CO3.

 

[Eamonn]

I have tried Conc Nitric. I have tried aqua regia(3 drops HCL & 1 drop Nitric)
Nothing worked, This stuff is indistructable.

 

[Smokin_Cache]

I was able to remove some from my outdoor kitchen before selling the house.

I mixed placing sodium chlorite (not hypochlorite) flakes and citric acid power on the stain and then dripping distilled water on the pile. I think I used 50/50 mix by volume.

There was one stain that never did completely fade away, but it was no longer noticeable.



I also read that 35% H2O2 will do the trick