Australia's Science Forum

We have had new bench tops in some of our laboratories and unavoidable stains from silver nitrate are starting to appear. I was wondering if anybody has had any successful removal techniques? If they are washed straight away with Hypo they are less trouble, but as with all things late disclosure is the problem and so the chemical is well and truly dried, and stained, before they're noticed.

Hi Mandy,
I too have new benches and am very protective. I have been using Chux "magic eraser" and they are fabulous. There are some other brands , and all successfully remove just about any stain from hard surfaces - using only water, no abrasives. They're a little expensive, but they eradicate the need for (most) cleaning chemicals.
Elizabeth

There is a lot of really helpful info for dealing with silver nitrate stains in the forum index- Grades 7-10. Happy cleaning!
Jodie

Same problem here with Silver Nitrate stains. We now use the black meat trays that butchers use for displaying meat. Students use them to carry any chemicals on and then do their experiment on the tray. Easy to clean up after by the students and stops any spillage of chemicals spreading onto the benches. We have 16 trays per lab. The local butcher gave me the supplier and they are of course cheaper in bulk.