Bottles covered in lead dirt

[MacCashman]

My roommate was at a site that needed cleaning up because the soil was contaminated with lead, she found these really beautiful bottles but I have no idea how to safely clean them.

Any ideas?

 

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[vpnavy]

1st - Noticed this is your first post - so, Welcome Aboard! You didn't list your state (or country) in your profile. So, you might consider jumping over to Sub-Forums: Select Your Area.... and selecting location information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state (or country).

2nd - I searched the net and the first hit was a product (D-Lead® Final Clean Pre-Mix) that removes lead from surfaces.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Pics would help. Do you own a bottle brush? Without seeing there condition i'd soak them in a sink of hot soapy water and use the bottle brush to clean them. For harder stains you can throw in some salt and crushed ice and swirl it around for those that would not clean up using the bottle brush.

 

[kcm]

I agree. Warm, soapy water in a plastic tub. Wear dishwashing gloves when handling or in the water. When you're done, just let the water sit for a couple of days to allow for all the sediment to settle. Then pour off most of the excess water. You may choose to do this several times to get as much water as possible. When you have most of the water out, scrape the material into a sealable plastic container, like an empty soda bottle or plastic coffee container, then dispose of.

As little material as you're looking at, the above instructions are still going a bit overboard in my opinion. Course, I was raised in a generation that did LOTS of horrible and dangerous things, yet like many, I still survived!

 

[villagenut]

I chewed on lead old sills window painted as child I was......and I pretty OK sure that alright I am.

 

[kcm]

I chewed on lead old sills window painted as child I was......and I pretty OK sure that alright I am.

Good grief! I read your post 3 times and those last 2 words kept coming out switched - as "am I"! Ok, now I'm startin' to worry!!

 

[boogeyman]

Mix up a strong citric acid solution and let it soak. Brush it every once in awhile. You can order citric acid from Spices Incorporated in 1lb bags up to 50lb drums. Grab a handful of bottle brushes from the dollar store. Also works good for calcium deposits too.

 

[boogeyman]

I chewed on lead old sills window painted as child I was......and I pretty OK sure that alright I am.

Lessee lead paint, a few pencil erasers, finger fulls of white paste (how else ya gonna make lunch stick to your ribs?), a few mouthfuls of dirt from swingset backflips, doin the just taste it test. Yup! you're good to go!!! and let's not forget sharing the cookie with the dog.

 

[jeff of pa]

as long as you don't lick 'em clean, I would think you will be fine

I'm sure I've dug over a thousand pieces of lead in my Life.
Can't say I've cleaned most of them.

am still able to type this Post
and have all my own fingers