powder from metal bed frame

want2bmortgage3

now this is very strange, i've just finished decorating the big bedroom:



i decided to start putting in furniture. now the one piece of furniture i was left with that i thought worth keeping was the metal framed bed:



i wiped the headboard part of it over as it had gathered dust and carried it to the room and put it against the wall ready to get the middle bit where the mattress sits. then i saw this red pile of powder on my brand new carpet. i thought what the hell is this and quickly hoovered it up. here is some of it on the laminate lounge floor:



now it wouldnt be much of a problem but it seems to have left a slight stain on the carpet??? so i'm here to ask what could the stuff be ? and if anyone knows then can it be cleaned from carpet? my guess is some sort of corrosion within the bed frame, but i cant see how the inside would have got wet at all?? i dont think its that old a bed either.

look forward to any replies!

nick.simpson19

Condensaition on the bed frame is enough to cause corrosion on this level especially wen its really cold and you turn your heating on etc!

Bed frames are usally made out of a cheap steel or alluminum and then dipped in chrome in your case or painted!

Alluminum probally would not cause this sort of corrosion as alluminum tends to flake especially around were you have had steel bolts "dissimilar metal corrosion" You see it alot on car alloy wheels!

I work in the aircraft industry so I know alot abotu diffrent types of corrosion on alluminum!

want2bmortgage3

hi nick thanks for the reply! i just thought what bad luck! the frame is fairly light , not sure if its aluminium or steel, but it has definitely been in a room that suffered condensation in the past. so i guess this is whats happened.

now would you scrap the bed because of this and get a new one? also, the faint red mark left on the new carpet, any ideas how to get rid of it? i'm a bit gutted i've stained the new carpet even if its a small patch.

Tim_Deegan

The powder is actually Iron Oxide, or rust as it is known to most of us. Your bed frame is chrome plated on the outside, and also a couple of inches inside the tube. However the plating doesn't throw into tubes unless there is an anode placed inside the tube as well as the chemicals being agitated during the plating process. Obviously they don't bother doing this when the chrome is just decorative. If the chrome was for Nick to use in the aircraft industry, then they probably would have plated, or at least pre-treated the inside of the tubes.

The actual cleaning process that is used prior to plating removes any grease and oil that would normally protect the steel from corrosion, and can actually make the corrosion worse.

The best thing to do would be to try and get some rubber bungs to bung up the ends of the tubes to prevent any more falling out.

want2bmortgage3

pretty poor isnt it ? i dont know what the bed cost as i have inherited it from the previous occupants, however it looked in good condition til finding this out! this iron oxide powder, is there a specific removal spray or something to get rid of it ?

maninthestreet

Get some waxoyl from Halfords and squirt it into the frame.

Tim_Deegan

want2bmortgage3 wrote: »

pretty poor isnt it ? i dont know what the bed cost as i have inherited it from the previous occupants, however it looked in good condition til finding this out! this iron oxide powder, is there a specific removal spray or something to get rid of it ?

I'm afraid it's very common. I'm surprised that the manufacturers didn't use the bungs.

maninthestreet's idea is brilliant. Although make sure the Waxoyl has set fully before taking it anywhere near your carpet.

Wherryman

As Tim Deegan, rust or iron oxide, most probably caused by the acid bath or rinse water getting trapped in one of the tubes after the chroming process.

Take it outside and give it a few gentle taps with a piece of soft wood to dislodge any more that is loose then bung the ends of the tube with some foam rubber.

Try lemon juice and salt for the carpet stain, see here:-

http://chemistry.about.com/od/cleaningtips/a/removerust.htm