Stacey Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 What is a safe and effective way to clean algae off of my petrified wood? I've scrubbed the best I can with a brush under plain water, but that's not as effective as I'd like it to be on some pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepinthemud Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 If the chunks are big enough and not fragile... a powerwasher can work wonders! ;-) as for the smaller pieces... im not sure. maybe try some of the "pond algae" removers they have at the store? (these are just guesses.. no guarantees on the results) "To do is to be." -Socrates "People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule "Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Stacey try H2O2 hydrogen peroxide I use it to clean mold and algae off bones and teeth that I find on the beach. Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepinthemud Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Stacey try H2O2 hydrogen peroxide I use it to clean mold and algae off bones and teeth that I find on the beach. How does one accomplish this? pour it? soak it? scrub it? (i am wanting to know, too!) "To do is to be." -Socrates "People are Stupid." -Wizard's First Rule "Happiness is a warm Jeep." -Auspex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bowen Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I use bleach. Either use a bleach based cleaner, or mix 1 part bleach to 2 parts water and spray it on. Leave it for about 30 minutes and it should scrub off. Of course power washers are great also. I just cleaned a septarian nodule like that this weekend. Dave Bowen Collin County, Texas. Paleontology: The next best thing to time travel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 How does one accomplish this?pour it? soak it? scrub it? (i am wanting to know, too!) I just soak it. Like Dave add bleach works great but I do not like to us it in a closed in space Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 While we tend to think of bleach as being a certain chemical, it actually is a class of chemicals, including peroxide. Any number of bleaches will work, make sure they donot affect the matrix, but being petrified, they are silica based, so a chemical reaction is unlikely, but it may affect the color. Bleaches that will work include oxalic acid, hydrogen peroxide, chlorine based bleach, and even sunlight. The best peroxide to use for bleaching bones is not that wimpy 3% you get for cuts, but 30% like they use in beauty shops. Be warned, if you get it on you, it will bleach you too, potentially causing painful burns in the process. Sodium peroxide is a solid form of it, and it will actually catch fire and burn hot enough to melt aluminum, if you get water on it. Peroxide fan Brent Ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 Mint to say the 30% stuff thats what I use on bones but it will burn very bad be careful. Never massed with Sodium peroxide sounds like bad stuff to have around. Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traviscounty Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I would pee on it. Oh wait, that's for a jellyfish sting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seldom Posted July 20, 2009 Share Posted July 20, 2009 I would pee on it. Oh wait, that's for a jellyfish sting. Read some where it was good for headaches to going to take there word for it. Galveston Island 32 miles long 2 miles wide 134 bars 23 liquor stores any questions? Evolution is Chimp Change. Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain! "I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen." Ernest Hemingway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeD Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 ashcraft has it pegged. I was going to suggest bleach or oxalylic acid. Most of the wood in your areas is heavily silicified so those chemicals will work fine. And yes 30% peroxide will bleach and burn your skin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracer Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 oxalic acid has potential health effects also, as i recall. something about causing kidney stones if you eat it with rhubarb pie makes milk taste gritty. plus i know it's bad to drop acid. basically, no wait, acidly, i don't mess with acid stronger than vinegar, and even then i try to drink it before it turns to vinegar. guess i'm saying i don't believe in better fossils through chemistry, but then again, i've always favored mechanical things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest solius symbiosus Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 ashcraft has it pegged. I was going to suggest bleach or oxalylic acid. Most of the wood in your areas is heavily silicified so those chemicals will work fine. And yes 30% peroxide will bleach and burn your skin. Yes he did. And, heed the caution! I have a nasty scar from a chemical burn(basic), on my arm, that happened years ago. Too, I might add, if working with a base, keep something acidic around to neutralize the reaction, and vice versa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashcraft Posted July 21, 2009 Share Posted July 21, 2009 I too have a chemical burn reminder from caustic (basic) chemicals. Acids usually let you know you have some on you before it burns you by itching (this does not include fuming nitric, which will melt yor skin immediatly). Concentrated perooxides give off an odor that lets you know it is reacting with your skin (reminds me of Bugs Bunny- me smell Mohican burning, me last Mohican, must be me), bases on the other hand, dissolve fat from beneath your skin, and forms soap (saponification), which sticks to you and is not easy to get off, best way is rinsing in a weak acid. If not removed, it will eat a hole right through your skin. My chemical burns are a ring around my wrists. I used to work on small chemical feeder pumps, and one of them fed concentrated caustic into a plating bath. I carefully washed my hands when I was finished, but didn't think about my lab coat, the sleeves had dipped into the solution, and exposed my skin to a prolonged contact. I realized I had problems when I looked down and blood was dripping down my hand, and all I had felt was a slight tingling. That was 1986, the scars are pretty much gone now. Brent Ashcraft ashcraft, brent allen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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