Corrosion issue!!! Need help!!!

[bgbadaz]

I have discovered a major corrosion issue in my garage and I need some scientific minds to help me! It started when I began to see my sawblades rusting about 8 or 9 months ago. Now, I have had this garage for 10 years with no problems unitl now. After the sawblades, then came the paint can lids, metal bands on paint brushes, and now... the bare steel and ALUMINUM parts on my roadster. It stays a little humid in there, but it always has been though. About a year or two ago, I switched my pool over to salt water and I have a 30 lb bag of salt in there, but it is unopened. My pool pump and filter is also in the garage. It had a small leak, but I have since fixed it... I dont think my corrosion problem is better though. The leak is down to about 1 drop per hour or two. I need some advice here.... Im panicking now. Also, what can I use on my aluminum panels to restore the brushed look. The corrosion spots are very small (pinhead size) but I want to clean them off before they worsen. Thanks,

Bobby

[tirod]

A lot of folks will ask for more info, but the problem is obvious. There's simply too much humidity in the garage. It needs better venting, and the water source has to be eliminated or removed.

[ZoaFan08]

I have a big salt water reef tank and in my garage I have two 275g containers, one is salt and the other is fresh RO/DI water, I use these to do water changes and mix fresh salt water. As long as I have been in the hobby and storing/mixing water in my garage I have had this issue with things in my garage rusting over, the way I solved it was put two fans over the containers blowing air out.

As long as you have those filters and any water leak in your garage you will have this issue. If you solve the leak it may go away but you might want to think about putting some vents with fans by the pool equipment.

[AC Bill]

Good venting, fans, and/or a dehumidifier.
Fix that leak 100%! Even a few drops an hour is introducing constant moisture.

[bgbadaz]

i thought about the fans, but here is my dilemma. My garage is 24'd x 30'w. the pool pump is in the front corner and my windows are on the opposite 24' wall. i thought about putting 2 box fans in the windows blowing out, but im concerned about drawing that air across my 2 garage bays. otherwise, anything else I do will require MAJOR changes. I will do ANYTHING to fix it, but obviously want to make it as simple as possible. I would even consider walling off the area the pump is in, or installing an eve vent type fan in the wall near it if i need to.

[AC Bill]

Even a simple bathroom type fan would help.
Mount it high up on a wall, or in the ceiling, and run the exit tube where you want it. Best to also add a simple wall vent, for drawing in fresh air as well, unless you have enough gap on your garage door seals, etc.

I have a larger free standing dehumidifier, (for winter use in a sunroom) that really sucks the moisture out of the air. Problem is you do have to empty it regularly, otherwise it shuts off when it's full.

[ZoaFan08]

Originally Posted by bgbadaz

i thought about the fans, but here is my dilemma. My garage is 24'd x 30'w. the pool pump is in the front corner and my windows are on the opposite 24' wall. i thought about putting 2 box fans in the windows blowing out, but im concerned about drawing that air across my 2 garage bays. otherwise, anything else I do will require MAJOR changes. I will do ANYTHING to fix it, but obviously want to make it as simple as possible. I would even consider walling off the area the pump is in, or installing an eve vent type fan in the wall near it if i need to.

I just knocked a hole in the hole, squared it off and wired in a fan on a timer.

[oldguy668]

Fix the leak

Don't store the bagged product there

Get a good dehumidifier (or install air conditioning)

[emac]

Many dehumidifiers have an attachment for a garden hose. Just run it outside.

[bgbadaz]

Ive been seriously considering adding a minisplit ac system in there too... does that work as well as a dehumidifier?

[fastco]

I had a similar problem from, oddly enough, cleaning products. I had a brand new shiny cabinet that I was storing stuff like car wax, Clorox Cleanup, Spray 9, etc. Within a couple of weeks my new cabinet was completely covered with rust on the inside. I never figured out which chemical, or combination of chemicals, was the culprit, but I suspect it was On and Off, which is used to clean algae and barnacles off of boats. It is acid based and even though it is in a container, it still gives off fumes from the spray nozzle. Not sure if you have any acid based cleaners around but...

[MPTech]

Similar, I had a 100gallon Saltwater tank on the main floor of our house and 150gallon reserve tank, filters, and pumps in the basement on my shop side (I installed a door). Everything metal on that side of the basement rusted (no surprise). (Even the duct work). I got rid of the system about 10 years ago and problem solved. No more rust.
I'm not sure if venting alone will solve your problem, but it's a really good start. I'd seriously look at building an outside pool-house/shed, or parking your car somewhere else.

For your aluminum, if it's caught really early, you can probably save it with very fine sandpaper (2000 grit), then brush it with the scotch brite pads.

[Zaphod]

Granular fertilizer will do the same in an enclosed area. If you're keeping any in your garage, get it outside.

[Dan Babb]

Even though the bag of salt is unopened, chances are it has salt residue on the bag and with the humidity in the air, it can't help to keep that inside.

Maybe buy something like a rubbermaid container that's big enough and keep that outside.

Definitely find a way to put an exhaust fan in there. Can't be too hard to cut a hole for an exhaust fan near the pump.

[ROADRACER83]

It sounds like you have maybe found the culprits, but I can think of one other cause also. Although it may be hard to believe, it occasionally rains in Seattle. When you park a car inside the garage after driving in in the rain, they will drip a quart of water, and the water on the body will evaporate and cause the humidity in the garage to go sky high. I solved the problem by putting so many parts and equipment in the spare bay that my girlfriend couldn't park inside any more. Of course my love life suffered for some time, but the FFR and the rest of my stuff doesn't rust anymore. Good trade off? I don't know.

Ron

[Radar Pete]

I had a corrosion problem for years and finally got a forty quart dehumidifier. It removes 40 quarts of water vapor every day! Thats 5 gallons every day! No more corrosion problems. I have to empty it every morning and night, it does heat up the garage, can't use it in the winter or it will freeze up. I don't have the option of the garden hose because I don't want a large boggy spot outside my garage. But, I don't have a corrosion problem....Pete

[CraigS]

Wow lot's of interesting replies here. I am thinking your wall the pool stuff off solution might be the cheapest/easiest. I'd use the usual 2x4 framing but do the inside of those walls w/ the shower type drywall (sorry don't remember the name). Then be real sure to seal everything super tight. I'd also use an exhaust fan to the outside w/ a dedicated outside air inlet. You want to pull air from outside (not from the garage) through the area and shoot it outside again. good luck and don't forget to report back in a few months w/ your results.

[bgbadaz]

Sadly, when I saw this on the car it was heartbreaking. Im moving the car into another garage tonight and im storing my supplies elsewhere. My ultimate fix is going to be building a poolhouse/bar for the pump and filter, but in the mean time im thinking about adding my wall around the pump or going the dehimidifier route. now its just damage control... i wasnt overly concerned until i saw it popping up on the aluminum.

[oldguy668]

Originally Posted by bgbadaz

Ive been seriously considering adding a minisplit ac system in there too... does that work as well as a dehumidifier?

About 30% of the capacity of an air conditioner is devoted to moisture removal 1-2 gallons per hour is not unusual.

[oldguy668]

Building a wall will not solve your problem Fixing the leak and reducing the humidity will. The humidity will permeate right through any stud wall you build unless you cover it with 6-mil poly. Then you might trap the moisture under the poly and create a whole different problem.

[Thumper135]

It sounds like the problem has been identified, if it was mine, I would install a vent with a fan in the wall behind the pump, build a box to cover the pump and seal it from the inside of the garage. This should eliminate that part of it. and depending on your shop, this could add a work top to the space, or it could be done like a closet that you could use to store your salt and pool chemicals in. the next thing I see here could be, Depending on the proximity of the pool to the shop, you may still have a problem with the pool water vaporizing and getting into the shop. A dehumidifier should solve that problem, but I have no idea as to what air with a salt content would do to the dehumidifier.
Just my thoughts, Good luck with it all.

[samadhi]

I'm with Zoafan08, I had a 250 gallon salt water tank backing in the garage and a 300 gallon sump pumped up from the laundry room in the basement.

Things rusted out QUICKLY. The laundry machines were practically dust!

If you are going to have salt and humidity you'll want to keep fresh air blowing through there.

[kmarsh34219]

Originally Posted by bgbadaz

Ive been seriously considering adding a minisplit ac system in there too... does that work as well as a dehumidifier?

Yes, just choose the size properly. An ac system properly sized to cool the area will be too big. It will quickly cool the air without adequate moisture removal.

The ac system needs to be undersized from normal capacity so it will run enough to dehumidify.

[rich grsc]

Simple and cheap, install a fan ($20) in the window, leave it run on low.

[bgbadaz]

i spoke with my guy at the pool store and he offered this. he thinks its less likely that its the pump and more likely that its the chemicals i keep in there, specifically the muratic acid. while i agree somewhat, im still not convinced that its not the pump. the problem arose when i switched my pool to salt water. it has been slow building, and im sure the chemicals added to it, but im sure its the pump. im 50/50 between moving it outside temporarily or building a temporary wall and outdoor vent system for it. my ultimate solution is a pool house, but im atleast a year away from that and i cant afford to keep waiting. i have removed the salt, and cleared a spot in my other garage for the roadster... its getting moved tonite. since im moving it, heres the second part to my dilemma. nothing rusts in my other garage, i keep bare steel in there with no problem. will the corrosion stop o the car now, or do i need to clean off the scale immediately? i only ask, because this is goint to require some major disassembly to do this. Im going to do it all, but does it need to be HIGH priority? thanks for all of your help guys...

bobby

[VdubJoe]

I had an issue with a small shed i have. Kept pool chem's and salt. Plus other stuff. Rust on alot of stuff. In my shop thats 60x 40 no ac i have no rust issues. And im in Fla where humidity is always high. Have a fan on when im working only to blow the hot air around but thats it. Funny how now were one of the coolest states in the country.

Joe

[Howff]

just curious never heard of pool with salt water

[Thumper135]

I have a lot of experience with Muriatic Acid. If there is any sort of tiny leek what so ever, it can cause everything around it to rust. I have a pool (fresh water) and keep all my chemicals in the shop EXCEPT the acid. It is kept in a hole in the very back corner of the yard under a bucket.
As for the corrosion on the car, once started, it will want to keep going. As long as it’s away from the root cause, it should slow down quite a bit, but you should get to removing as much as possible as soon as you can to prevent any of it from spreading. This can be something as simple as rubbing the area with a dry clean cloth depending on the severity of the corrosion. Once gone, just keep an eye on it until you get the chance to do the coating thing to keep it from coming back.
Good luck with the car and the cause of the corrosion in the shop.

[bgbadaz]

up until this week, i would swear by a salt water pool... now i want to swear at it. it is soooooo easy to maintain, once your water balance is right it barely needs to be touched all summer. it is essentially a chlorine pool without the chlorine added to it. as the salt water circulates thru the pump and filter, it goes thru an ionizer that converts a small percentage of the salt to chlorine electronically. this way your pool is chlorinated without having to add chlorine directly to the pool. its less harsh than having all that dissolved chlorine directly in the water, easier on your skin and eyes, doesnt bleach your clothes... it just rusts your nice car.

[Fastcars]

Originally Posted by bgbadaz

i spoke with my guy at the pool store and he offered this. he thinks its less likely that its the pump and more likely that its the chemicals i keep in there, specifically the muratic acid.
bobby

Muratic acid in the garage is really risky. I remember several years ago that someone had a muratic acid spill in their garage and everything in the entire garage rusted almost immediately. Bad, bad stuff around metal.