Oxalic acid’s principle uses relate to cleaning and bleaching, therefore having a wide range of applications. A popular application of Oxalic Acid is wood treatment and wood bleaching; it acts as a wood bleaching agent to remove any dark spots and discolouration caused by external exposure, and can also remove tannin stains. Users apply oxalic acid to wood after stripping it, to promote an even uniform colour before refinishing. This process is often employed to treat wooden beams, to maintain wood on boats and quays, and to restore furniture.
Oxalic acid is often used for stain removal; acting as reducing agent it can remove stains such as ink from fabrics. Oxalic acid is also used for the removal of rust from metals, plumbing fixtures and other surfaces.
In addition, Oxalic acid can be used to clean, tan and bring the shine back into leather, as well as being used for preparing and polishing stone and marble sculptures.
Other uses of Oxalic Acid include water treatment; removing calcium ions from solutions producing calcium oxalate, an insoluble solid, and beekeepers can also use Oxalic Acid combined with sugar syrup in a solution as a miticide against varroa mite. |
