Hand tools
Carbon steel with an oil film on it. Cleaning them the way you would clean a kitchen surface removes the only thing stopping them rusting.
Precautions
- Wear gloves
- Check the manufacturer's instructions
- Dispose of responsibly
Start here
What this is, what tends to go wrong with it, and what to do about it.
What tends to go wrong
Hydrated iron oxide from corroding iron or steel. Distinguish a surface deposit, which cleans off, from active corrosion of the item itself, which does not.
Why it is difficult: Corrosion and passivation, Why old stains are harder, Adhesion and cohesion
Not simply an oil. Used engine oil carries combustion soot and metal particles, which is why it marks darker and behaves worse than the oil that went in.
Why it is difficult: Why oil resists water, Penetration into fibres, Why old stains are harder
Fats and oils, which water alone cannot lift. Removed by surfactants, by heat, by solvents, or by alkalis that convert the fat into soap.
Why it is difficult: Why oil resists water, Emulsification
- Fingerprintsvia its material
Skin oils transferred by touch. A greasy soil rather than a dirty one, which is why water alone does not shift them and why they return immediately.
Why it is difficult: Surfactancy
- Water marksvia its material
What hard water leaves behind when it evaporates instead of being wiped away. A mineral film, not dirt, and the fix is at the drying stage.
Why it is difficult: Water hardness, Evaporative deposition
- Burnt-on food and carbon depositsvia its material
Food heated until it carbonised and bonded to the surface. Time and softening do the work; scouring powder does the damage.
Why it is difficult: Contact time, Carbonisation, Adhesion and cohesion, Why old stains are harder
- Heat tintvia its material
The rainbow or brown bloom on stainless steel that has been heated. Not a deposit and not dirt: the metal's own surface oxide, thickened by heat.
- Limescalevia its material
A hard, chalky calcium carbonate deposit left by hard water. Dissolved by acids, essentially untouched by detergents.
Why it is difficult: Water hardness, Crystallisation, Adhesion and cohesion
- Algaevia its material
The green film outdoors, and NOT the same organism as the mould indoors. Where it grows is the diagnosis: shade, overhanging trees, or paving that does not drain.
Why it is difficult: Moisture control and recurrence
- Moss and lichenvia its material
Three different organisms treated as one green problem. Where they grow tells you more about the fix than any product does.
Why it is difficult: Moisture control and recurrence, Surface roughness
- Dustvia its material
Mostly textile fibres and skin, held by static as much as by gravity — which is why a dry cloth on a plastic surface makes it worse.
Why it is difficult: Static and dust, Mechanical action and abrasion, Why different surfaces get different dirt, Surface roughness
- Silicone residuevia its material
Left by most furniture polishes, invisible, and present even after a finish has been stripped to bare wood. It is discovered on the day somebody tries to refinish.
Why it is difficult: Water-repellent and water-attracting surfaces, Coating thickness
- Mould fungivia its material
The organisms behind the marking. Around 1.5 million species, each with its own conditions — and killing them does not end the exposure they created.
Why it is difficult: Organic load, Moisture control and recurrence, Biofilm
- Road salt· no established method
A white tidemark on boots, carpet and car sills that is also actively corroding whatever it is sitting on.
Why it is difficult: Chloride attack, Evaporative deposition
A concentrated water-soluble dye with nothing else in it. Nothing has to be emulsified or dissolved — the only question is whether the surface has taken the colour up.
Why it is difficult: Capillary absorption, Dye migration and colour bleeding
A sticky, yellow-brown tar film deposited everywhere at once. It is the reason a room smells after everything visible has been cleaned.
Why it is difficult: Adsorption of odour molecules, Solubility and polarity
Coloured by turmeric in most prepared mustards, and curcumin is a pH indicator — which is why an alkaline cleaner turns a yellow mark red.
Why it is difficult: pH indicators in stains, Fat-soluble pigments, Photodegradation, Pigment retention
The commonest cleaning problem that is not dirt. The tackiness is the plastic's own additive arriving at the surface, which is why wiping it off works for a week.
Why it is difficult: Plasticizer migration, Damage versus soiling
The science behind this: Corrosion and passivation, Water hardness, Chloride attack, Cleanability is designed in, Sacrificial protection, Alkali attack on light metals
In detail
Most hand tools are carbon or alloy steel, not stainless, and their corrosion protection is a thin oil film plus whatever plating the manufacturer applied. That single fact inverts the usual advice. A degreasing wash removes the protection along with the dirt, and a tool washed and left wet is open to rust — so drying and re-oiling is the method rather than an optional finish. Salt is the accelerant to watch: chloride attacks passive layers and accelerates the corrosion of ordinary steel, which is why winter road salt on garden tools and a damp coastal shed do disproportionate damage. Three further points come from the materials themselves. Alkalis attack aluminium and zinc, which reaches cast handles, galvanised fittings and anodised trim. Steel wool leaves iron particles that corrode in place, even where it removes the rust. And solvents attack plastic, rubber and coatings — grips, insulated handles, painted bodies. Sharpened edges and any tool with a safety function belong with their maker's instructions.
Related
- Hand tools is made from Stainless steel
- Hand tools is made from Galvanised steel
- Hand tools is made from Household plastics
- Hand tools is made from Painted and coated steel
- Hand tools is made from Finished wood flooring
- Hand tools is commonly affected by Rust
- Hand tools is commonly affected by Engine oil
- Hand tools is commonly affected by Grease
- Hand tools is commonly affected by Road salt
Aftercare and prevention
- Two-stage degreasing requires the aftercare Hand tools
Sources for this page
Sources
Care and Maintenance of Stainless Steel
British Stainless Steel Association, Stainless Steel Advisory Service, 2001 · Trade or professional body
Relied on for: That chlorides attack the passive layer and cause corrosion, and that steel wool and carbon-steel implements leave iron particles which corrode. (states this directly)
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Stoddard Solvent (RTK 1736)
New Jersey Department of Health, 2008 · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That petroleum solvent attacks plastic, rubber and coatings. (states this directly)
Right to Know Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Potassium Hydroxide (RTK 1571)
New Jersey Department of Health, 2010 · Government or regulator
Relied on for: That caustic alkali is corrosive in moist air to aluminium, zinc, tin and lead. (states this directly)