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April, 2007

Battery Acid

Q. I replaced the battery of my vehicle and drove around with the battery in the back of my van for a week only to find out that it had tipped over. I lifted it up right and now I find that it is highly corrosive material in the battery. I don't know if it was down for a day or the whole week. So what do I do to get it out of the carpet and or neturalize the acid? I got some on my hands rinsed it off with the water I was drinking, but in the store I licked my finger and my tongue and lips are still burning.

A.What you are dealing with is sulfuric acid and to try to clean it out with water could be extremely dangerous as it might explode. (Usually it is the other way around .. adding acid to water .... but you have to be extremely careful  adding water to the acid because if you splash the acid you have a SERIOUS problem!)

You need to contact a chemist or go to the dealership and see what they recommend as to how to handle her problem. My guess is she is going to have to replace the seat. Sulphuric acid is DANGEROUS stuff and should NEVER be touched by a human hand as it will eat it away!

Here are some more comments from our member experts on the battery leak ...

"BAKING SODA NEUTRALIZES THE ACID ... ALSO COCA COLA WHICH IS TOO MESSY BUT CAN BE USED IN A CRUNCH ... HAVE HER ADD BAKING SODA TO WATER AND DRENCH IT REALLY WELL UNTIL IT STOPS BUBBLING ..."

"Baking soda - lots of it will neutralize the acid if it is still wet.  Best to work the soda in and let it sit a couple days. You must replace the carpet or other damaged material.  Alternative, just neutralize the acid, clean up the baking soda and live with the damage, no further damage will occur if the acid is neutralized."