Alkaline battery leak in my cabinet!

[MiamiE]

Get home today to find one of my oust fans' battery has leaked potassium hydroxide on a small area of the lowest level of the cabinet. Any ideas as to how I should clean this up? I took all my cigars out and they're in my cooler, but this sucks? Should I worry about the beads or the cigars?

[Emjaysmash]

vinegar or Lemon juice might work. Be sure to use gloves and protective eye wear, as well as keeping good ventilation.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4917698_clea...e-battery.html

[T.G]

I would just use some water and let it dry, then maybe sand it lightly. If you try to neutralize it with vinegar or some other acid, you've started playing a guessing game as to how much acid is needed, you could easily end up swinging the scale the other way. Also, something like vinegar could introduce an odor into your humidor that you might not be able to get rid of.

So long as the cigars were not in direct contact with the chemical, for as large a volume space as the humidor is, and how little was actually leaked, I doubt that you have anything to worry about.

[MiamiE]

Just read these. I ended up using a small bit of vinegar diluted in water. Soaked the area a bit, and then pat dried it. I then used a blow dryer to dry the area. Looks like the vinegar smell is gone as well as the stain from the acid.

[Emjaysmash]

Glad it worked out!

[MiamiE]

Here is what I did in more detail. Dont know if this resolved it, but it looks clean and smells fine. I blotted up what I could with a paper towel. I then used a vinegar/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. Did that and blow dried the whole area till it was absolutely dry. Waited a bit and then used a baking soda/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. This was to remove the vinegar smell, whatever was left of it. I cleaned it up, blow dried it good, and vaccummed the remaining baking soda. All seems to be alright now...

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by MiamiE

Here is what I did in more detail. Dont know if this resolved it, but it looks clean and smells fine. I blotted up what I could with a paper towel. I then used a vinegar/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. Did that and blow dried the whole area till it was absolutely dry. Waited a bit and then used a baking soda/water solution and a toothbrush to scrub the area. This was to remove the vinegar smell, whatever was left of it. I cleaned it up, blow dried it good, and vaccummed the remaining baking soda. All seems to be alright now...

Sounds like you did well. I would probably put something in between the area of the spill and any cigars/boxes that would be sitting on top. Also, check your batteries more often
Don't worry about using too much vinegar/water mixture. You'd need a lot of straight vinegar to bounce the pH low enough to corrode.

[MiamiE]

I put a piece of spanish cedar over the area. Anything else you could think of I could put over it?

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by MiamiE

I put a piece of spanish cedar over the area. Anything else you could think of I could put over it?

that should be sufficient. Just wouldn't want it in contact with the box itself just in case any chemicals were left over. sounds like you're A-OK!

I'd switch out the cedar after a month or so, just in case it absorbed the leftovers.

[MiamiE]

Sounds good. Thank you!