How to Get Rust Off Knives?

How do you get rust off knives? This is a routine question in households. Before we know different solutions to getting rust off knives, we must know what rust is. What is its impact on human health? Does it affect human food and contaminate it, leading to food poisoning or other gastro problems?

What is Rust?

Rusting is a natural phenomenon. It is a chemical reaction that occurs everywhere around us when oxygen, humidity(water), and metal (iron) come in contact simultaneously. So, we can say rust is the product of a chemical reaction based on the abovementioned reactants: Metal, Water, and oxygen. Its colour varies according to the metal variation. When we take Ferrous (Iron) the color is brownish.

What is the Impact of Rust on Human health?

The chemical name of rust is Iron oxide, or the oxide of metal. If we consume iron oxide on a daily basis, it would simply add iron content to our body, which is not harmful to our body as generally considered. Excess of everything is bad, and there is no exception to this maxim in the case of iron oxide, too.

Does rust impact human food?

Rust does not contaminate food in particular, but it can add impurities and change its colour or appearance. For health safety reasons, things containing rust must be cleaned before their proper usage. The American Agriculture Department strictly prohibits the use of rusted cookware, as it is not recommended. 

Impact on Human Health: How to Clean Rust Off a Knife

Rust is safe for human health except for people who are allergic to rust or suffer from a disease that is quite sensitive to iron oxide. Iron oxide is not harmful to human health and is safe for our gastric system. However, rust-free food is recommended to avoid any type of food poisoning.

Why Knives Get Rusts

A  Kitchen knife is made of iron blades or carbon steel. Iron gets oxidized on a wet surface, so it is quite common for knives to rust. Even stainless steel and Damascus steel are not rust-free steel.

Solutions to get rid of rust:-

Home-based solutions for getting rid of rust are available in the kitchen and other parts of the home. Iron oxide reacts with acids and washes out, which is the basis of these solutions. Here are some solutions to get rust-free cutlery.

• Proper Rinsing
• By Use of White Vinegar
• By Use of Potato
• By use of Baking soda
• By use of Lemon
• By Use of turpentine
• By use of Make-Up remover

Proper Rinsing

Carbon blade knives easily get rusted. In the same fashion, they can easily become rust-free by proper cleansing, drying, and keeping them in a protected environment.

By Use of White Vinegar

We use white vinegar, a pot for carrying vinegar, a soft sponge, and dish washing soap.

Method

Prepare a solution of the vinegar by adding some water in the concentrated white vinegar. Now submerge the knife blade in this solution for some time if the rust is not hard, and keep it in this solution all night if the rust is thick and has engulfed the whole blade.  Get it out, use a soft sponge to clean the knife blade, and wash it with water. The knife is rust-free now. Dry it and keep it in a rust protected environment.

By Use of Potato

Potatoes contain oxalic acid. When this acid reacts with rust, the rust is easily removed and washed after rinsing.

Method

Take a large potato and cut it into halves. Take one half and apply it to the knife’s blade. Rub this potato on the blade, and rust will end up.

By Use of Baking Soda

We can remove rust with baking soda paste. To prepare a paste from baking soda, take some baking soda in a pot and pour some water in the pot. Mix it to make a paste.  Now this paste is ready to apply. A hour delay is necessary after applying the paste on the blade. After one hour, remove the paste by gently rubbing it with the scrub. Now, wash it and have a rust-free knife.

By use of lemon

Lemons also contain acid. The citric acid in lemons is applied to the surface of a knife's rusted blade. Before applying lemon juice, we use some salt so a reaction can easily take place on the blade's surface. After some time, we rinse it and get a rust-free knife. A makeup remover and turpentine can also be used to remove rust from a knife's blade separately.

Bottom lines

How to get rust off knives? Using the methods given above, we can make our rusted kitchen knives rust off. For a complete range of knives and their types, such as Bowie Knife, Skinner Knife, Chef Knife, etc., visit Knives Hives.