[Jewelry making - Article 00447] - Re: [Orchid] Yet Another Pickle Question

[Peter W . Rowe]

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>      ...the other day I noticed that the liquid had evaporated leaving
>     a white crusty coating on the inside of the pot. So now I'm
>     wondering:  is it bad to let it evaporate like that? 

    Nan, you're just undoing what you did when you mixed it up in the
    first place. Then, you mixed a mostly white granulated solid with
    water, to make the pickle. Over time, the water has evaporated. 
    That's all.  The chemical that makes it pickle is the white crust and
    has not changed or given off fumes, so long as the pickle pot was
    cold.  So just add water back again.  Because it's not nice small
    granules now, it may take longer to dissolve again, but letting the
    pickle pot warm up a bit should solve that easily enough. 

>        What is it doing to me (breathing in evaporated pickle) and
>     what is it doing to my tools, etc. 

    Sodium bisulphate, the chemical that makes up the pickle, is not
    itself volatile. But if the pickle is actually boiling and perhaps
    even if it's steaming a good deal, the water droplets given off by the
    hot liquid can carry tiny amounts of the chemical with it as an
    aerosol.  Mostly this is the case if it's actually boiling.  You'll
    know this since then the pickle pot will have an "acid" smell to it,
    which it won't have when cold.  Those "fumes" are not so good for
    your lungs, and will nicely corrode nearby steel tools (and some
    other metals too.)  The cure is that when your pickle pot is on, you
    should try not to have it so hot as to actually boil, and it should
    be kept covered whenever you're not actually putting something in or
    taking it out.  The cover will serve to condense the droplets again,
    thus returning the chemical to the pot, rather than letting it out to
    the air.  And if at all possible, try to have the location where the
    pot is sitting, decently ventillated, especially while the pot is in
    use and hot.  When the pot is cold, and water is just slowly
    evaporating, these risks do not generally exist. 

>     Also, can I just add water to the pot and make a new batch?  

    Yes. 

>     Or do I need to scrape the white crust away (and do what with it?),
>     clean the pot, and then start with water? 

    You're choice.  That crusty dry crud is harder to dissolve than
    fresh pickle, and if this was older pickle anyway, then it's a fine
    excuse to change it out. 

    One other comment.  Letting the pot dry up while cold and unused is
    quite different from letting it actually boil dry.  If it actually
    boils dry,  and especially if you've forgotton it was on and left,
    so it not only boils dry, but then continues to cook for some time,
    you'll find that it turns a brownish color, as the chemical
    degrades. The brown washes off things like the inside of the lid
    easily enough with water, but mixing water with the remaining
    chemical will give you a really yucky looking pickle.  Best then, to
    clean out the pot and start fresh.  Also, actually boiling it dry and
    letting it cook like that, to the point where it's evolving brown
    fumes,  is more harmful to you or the surrounding tools than letting
    it dry out while cold, which does not degrade the chemical into
    anything volatile.  So try not to forget to turn the pot off when
    you're done for the day, OK?  (this last paragraph based largely on
    my own need to clean out my own pickle pot after forgetting to turn
    it off last friday.  What a mess it looked like when discovered. 
    Amazingly, the old 12 dollar rival crock pot that serves as my pickle
    pot, didn't mind the ordeal at all.  Washing the cover off to clean
    up the brown coating, and cleaning out the crock pot part, was all it
    needed.  Still, not a recommended procedure.) 

    As to disposal of used pickle, see the many long discussions in the
    Archives for more, but the upshot is this.  If the pickle is clean
    chemical, then it's just sodium bisulphate, a mild sulphuric acid salt
    that has no different effect on the environment than, for example,
    some of the stronger toilet cleaners you might use.  Dispose of it
    down the toilet if using municipal waste systems, along with lots of
    water to dilute it (important).  If you have a septic tank system, 
    you'd be best advised to consult your local waste disposal
    authorities for how they wish it handled.  The dry chemical might
    just go in the trash in some municipalities.  In others, it may be
    considered hazardous waste.   The real problem with pickle disposal
    comes when it's very used and spent, since then it will also have a
    good deal of copper, and perhaps other, metal oxides dissolved in it.
     As such, with metal salt contents, it may need more careful
    disposal to avoid environmental effects.  Again, consult local
    authorities.  Mostly, it's likely safe in small quantities down the
    toilet.  But not always, and it does depend on the quantities
    involved. 

Peter

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