

Scrub it off with a brush, cloth or abrasive. Allow it time to set and leave it for at least a few hours. Spread it across the metal using a spatula or even a butter knife. To use it against rust, mix it with water until it turns into a thick, spreadable paste. Like vinegar, baking soda has a multitude of uses around the home and is a useful addition to any kitchen cupboard. Limes are best but if you don't have one, a lemon will do the job too.You can use a toothbrush on smaller items, and a bigger brush on larger objects when rubbing the rind over the rusted surface. When you come to scrub the paste off the item, employ the lime's rind for extra strength.Use as much lime juice as you can physically squeeze out of the fruit, and then leave the resulting solution to set on the item for a few hours. Next, juice some limes over the top of the item, so that the juice mixes with the salt. First, you will need to sprinkle the salt over the rusted surface so it is completely coated.

When used together, lime juice and salt can be an effective way of removing rust. The longer you soak the item in either type of vinegar, the less scrubbing you are likely to have to do.

Over time, an object left exposed to the process will eventually disintegrate altogether. When it forms, rust is flaky and provides little protection for the metal beneath, causing it to degenerate. These acids speed up the oxidation process and cause more of the metal to become exposed. The main trigger for this process is water, which penetrates microscopic cracks in the metal's surface and reacts with other elements to form acids.

It develops when oxygen mixes with the metal's atoms, creating an entirely new compound which weakens the chemical bonds of the metal itself. Rust is the common name for 'iron oxide', which forms on iron (or iron alloys like steel) when they are exposed to moisture and oxygen over a prolonged period of time. But fear not, there are a number of home remedies you can use to banish rust from your precious items, and they are all cheap, easy and toxin-free. Unfortunately, it is inevitable that most of our metal objects including tools, kitchen utensils, and decorative garden objects will fall foul of this common problem over time, costing us money and causing us irritation. Unless you want your belongings to have an 'antique' appearance, then rust is an annoyance we can all live without.
