Using cat litter to clean dirty coins?

[7up2000]

Has anybody had success with using cat litter to clean coins(using a rock tumbler)? I'd be interested in any feedback out there. Thanks ahead of time. Curt

 

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[airscapes]

You would be tumbling them dry with cat litter and I expect have little cleaning .. In the end just dirty coins and clay powder..

 

[7up2000]

You would be tumbling them dry with cat litter and I expect have little cleaning .. In the end just dirty coins and clay powder..

cat litter and dish soap. That is my intentions and I should have stated that, sorry.

 

[airscapes]

Cat litter is caly.. it will absorb moisture, it will turn into clay/mud if you wet it..

Go to the the pet store and buy a $4 bag of white aquarium gravel.. put about a cup and and a half of stones, coin, a table spoon of All laundry detergent (does not foam) and enough water to cover everything in the barrel. Tumble over night, opener up, drain the dirt, run cold water in there till clean. then fill with water only and tumble a few more hours for nice clean coins.. or if just rolling they should be good enough..

 

[T.C.]

I have tried aquarium gravel in my tumblers....I have three. It doesn't do a very good job and the clean up of the tumblers really sucks.

Socaljim has a great method. I tried it and was really impressed!! Tumbler clean up was nominal....here it is, give it a try!!

Tumbling clad coins Lemon Juice only 30-45 Minutes !



Apparently lots of folks are still using gravel and mixtures of dish soap,vinegar clr , and other mixes and running their tumblers for hours. Try the lemon juice alone ,enough to just cover your coins its available at the 99 cent stores. I read it on here some where and was very skeptical because I too ran my tumbler for hours. When I found enough beach coins to runa batch I gave it a try its amazing just the lemon juice alone I ran the clad then used the same juice for my pennies a few stubborn clad coins were still black(but plenty clean enough for spending or coin machines) but the majority were clean after 30 minutes . So who ever recommended it originally Thanks! it was inside another thread so I thought I'd pass along my results. Jim

P.S. I forgot the table salt I used Three tablespoons for about 4-5 ounces of lemon juice so thread should read Lemon juice and salt only
no I didn't take pics : )

 

[T.C.]

Oh yeah, I did take some pictures. Hope this will help ya!!

 

[SusanMN]

I don't understand the need to tumble coins. All you need to do is give them a rinse to remove the dirt and they will run through a coin counting machine just fine.

 

[Skippy SH13]

If you're interested in taking the time/effort out of cleaning the coins enough to make them easily spendable, remove all pennies (silver clad only left) toss them in a jar/bucket with just enough vinegar to keep them all wet, add table salt (I simply pour some in from the Morton's cardboard round canister), and shake/swirl them for about 30 seconds... More if you're not happy with the results... it's fast, though, I've never had to go more than a minuter or two for really really bad coins. Rinse and dry off. Cleans them more then enough (will look like the photo).

Leaving pennies in will turn them a rose color (weird).

Skippy

 

[T.C.]

Thirty minutes is just a rinse....I already have tumblers so it makes it that much easier.

I don't understand the need to tumble coins. All you need to do is give them a rinse to remove the dirt and they will run through a coin counting machine just fine.

 

[airscapes]

next batch I will try just LJ and Salt.. would be nice not to have all the freaking stones to mess with..

 

[ARC]

Try "used" cat litter

 

[T.C.]

There must be some truth to that saying. "You can polish a turd and it still is a turd!!

Try "used" cat litter

 

[1637]

I just put them in my washing machine and leave them for a few washing,they can't get out,work good
iam not kidding,ps not married

 

[Pennypacker]

I just put them in my washing machine and leave them for a few washing,they can't get out,work good
iam not kidding,ps not married

I could see that working. Some people clean coins by carrying them in their pockets for a few weeks, this would be similar and more practical for larger amounts of coins.

 

[Ranger121]

Never tried salt and vinegar...will, tho. Everything else tho and it depends what I have in the house when I get the "bug" to clean my clad. I've used SOS pads, that is quick and does a great job in the tumbler. Also rice, walnut shells saved from the traditional Christmas bowl of nuts,,,,nuts and bolts from the junk drawer, Brillo, BB's, ??for the silver and wheaties tho, just the walnut shells and/or coffee grounds.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

I always appreciated this fella's ingenuity and wondered if the tumbler would handle a coffee can full of coins......
or 17 coffee cans. (it's a t-net link also)

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/tool-shed/358466-cheap-home-made-tumbler.html

I was thinking of throwing in pea-gravel, taping the lids shut, and just let the neighbor kids, kick the can around a while.

Thanks. I'll try that lemon juice and salt. I got a friend in Wisc., cleans them with Drano and a wire brush. She wears gloves, of course. I know vinegar cleans horseshoes real good, you just gotta let them soak for days. I believe ammonia will also clean gunked up grill grates and cast iron gas burner cover plates, too (you only have to put them in a plastic bag, with a small cup of liquid, overnight. The fumes turn the gunk to sludge, they will easily clean the next morning).
That's about all I got, good luck.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I don't understand the need to tumble coins. All you need to do is give them a rinse to remove the dirt and they will run through a coin counting machine just fine.

Because you can't get them clean just spraying a little water on them, and running dirty coins through a bank's counter will result in jambs and very unhappy bank personnel.

Tumbling coins is about getting them clean, not about making them look shiny and pretty. When you dig about 25 pounds of clad a year you would be spending a LOT of time trying to hand scrub every coin to get them clean.

 

[SusanMN]

Because you can't get them clean just spraying a little water on them, and running dirty coins through a bank's counter will result in jambs and very unhappy bank personnel.

Tumbling coins is about getting them clean, not about making them look shiny and pretty. When you dig about 25 pounds of clad a year you would be spending a LOT of time trying to hand scrub every coin to get them clean.

Just rinse my coins and have been running them through coin machines since 2007 and never had a jammed machine. I usually run around $50 - $100 at a time.

 

[T.C.]

The odds will catch up to you sooner or later.....

Just rinse my coins and have been running them through coin machines since 2007 and never had a jammed machine. I usually run around $50 - $100 at a time.