Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 August 27

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August 27

Stain removal from acrylic

Can anyone help me before my wife kills me?

I spilled some Fungus medicine on our Jacuzzi Acrylic tub. I tried to remove the stains using a product I purchased from a local Jacuzzi dealer with no results, stains still there, wife has a fit every time she looks at it. Getting awfully crowded in this doghouse.

Anyone out there got any suggestions? Bill — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2600:6C60:4080:9B8:3CD6:BCE6:1F0:8CDD (talk) 20:59, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

This one-page document recommends applying a mixture of 1 part of hydrogen peroxide (3%), to 1 part of vinegar (unspecified strength, but presumably white vinegar also at household strength like 5% or so). The same advice is given in this brief video. Disclaimer: I have not tried this and have no idea how effective it is. But it is safer than some other advice I see, like using sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid, in particular considering that you may have to rinse and repeat several times.  --Lambiam 23:12, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

You'd be surprised how effective a melamine foam sponge may be in cleaning it up (marketed in the US as "Magic Eraser"). Unless it has penetrated the material to a significant depth, I have rarely found a surface stain on anything it can't get up. I go to it first when trying to clean almost anything. My other go-to cleaner is a one-to-one mixture of concentrated hand dish soap ("Dawn" in the US) and white distilled vinegar. Spray on, leave an hour, rinse with water and minimal wiping. Automatic dishwasher detergent (the powdered kind) can also do a pretty good job. If all that doesn't work, there are concentrated detergents like Alconox that will clean the white off of rice, but which may damage certain surfaces, so you should probably check warning labels. --Jayron32 13:00, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

Hard acrylic material typically has a hardness of 3 to 4 on the Mohs hardness scale^[1], whereas melamine foam reportedly^[2] scores 4 on that scale. So apply with love and tender care, or you may make the shiny Jacuzzi surface dull and the doghouse feeling more cramped – although products are available,^[3] cheaper than a new Jacuzzi, for polishing dull acrylic surfaces.  --Lambiam 19:01, 28 August 2020 (UTC)

This is alleged to be a 'super cleaner' of plastics and other materials (I know the source isn't approved of for Wikipedia, though I've heard the claim elsewhere too, albeit without the addition of ice). I don't know if acrylic will respond similarly to the plastics used for lunchboxes (probably polypropylene or high density polyethylene?). PaleCloudedWhite (talk) 13:54, 28 August 2020 (UTC)