Storing Chemicals - Melted Plastic/Rust

[Yeller989]

I store my chemicals in a plastic upright shed to keep them out of the rain and sun. Unfortunately over the past year flexible plastic items (swim goggles, toys, etc...) also stored in the shed melted or broke. Also, all the shed's metal shelf screws rusted. Is there a specific chemical that's causing this?

Chemicals stored in the shed include:

• Phosphate Remover
• Chlorine Stabilizer
• Muriatic acid (in plastic bottles with tight screw cap)
• 40lb salt (I originally thought salt caused the rust, but it's sealed and I don't think it breaks down plastic)
• baking soda
• Chlorine granules

Thoughts?

 

[mknauss]

Muriatic acid (in plastic bottles with tight screw cap)

The MA must be stored by itself, in a separate container. I use a 20 gallon covered plastic trash can.

Acid - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Chemical Storage and Safety - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Yeller989]

The MA must be stored by itself, in a separate container. I use a 20 gallon covered plastic trash can.

Acid - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Chemical Storage and Safety - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Do you think MA is causing the melted plastic issues, or storing MA separately is safer in general?

After reading about acid, it looks like the likely cause of Rust (It will corrode metal nearby). MA is nasty stuff...

 

[mknauss]

Melted plastic would be more likely from heat. Though you had a lot of stuff in there. I would take the phosphate stuff and chlorine granules to the local household hazardous waste site.

 

[Mdragger88]

Chemical Storage and Safety - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The MA, baking soda, and chlorine granules (depending on if they are cal-hypo or dichlor) are INCOMPATIBLE for storage with one another. Even in sealed containers, they can still emit fumes and those fumes will be contained by the shed. The mixture can be extremely corrosive or cause other chemicals and plastics to degrade. Oxidizers (chlorine), acids (MA), and anything alkaline (TA increaser, pH Up, etc) should all be stored in separate containers away from one another. Things likes plastic/rubber goggles and swim toys should be stored indoors as the heat and chlorine vapors will work quickly to destroy them as well.

Small plastic deck boxes work great for storing chemicals in a way that looks neat around the property.

 

[kul]

I store my MA gallons in 5 gallon Home Depot buckets away from any other chemicals. I leave the lid on the bucket so it’s slightly ajar. It works for me though any of the above suggestions are reasonable as well.

 

[JamesW]

It's very dangerous to store things like goggles, toys, clothes, towels etc. near chemicals because people will come in contact with those items and if the items are contaminated with chemicals, the people can get chemical burns.

 

[Yeller989]

Wow, thanks for the information. I used to stuff all the chemicals/toys/goggles/towels into one shed, then I noticed weird things, including the melting plastic and towels that disintegrated. I moved the MA, chlorine and salt out of the cabinet until I could figure out what’s going on.

From your advise, it sounds like I need:
- MA storage (with lots of ventilation/lid ajar)
- Baking storage
- Chlorine storage (BTW, I use chlorine to shock my pool back to normal range, typically during winter times or super-heavy rains. I’ve had a 5 gal bucket for 2 years and it’s still 80% full)
- Storage for everything else (towels, toys, stabilizer, salt and phosphate remover) in one shed

Thanks for everyone’s feedback.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

People often aren't aware that Muriatic Acid caps are "vented" in the sense that they allow some gasses to discharge.