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Techniques for CollectorsRemoving Moss From Specimens?

17th May 2018 01:21 UTCJonelle DeFelice

Hi all

I just scrubbed three rocks/minerals with a toothbrush... first with an "oil-eater" product that we use for most everything, second with normal bar soap. After all that scrubbing and rinsing, there was STILL some green moss/growth on one of them!

This happens often enough for me to ask:

1) HOW is this stuff STILL stuck to the surface??

2) HOW can I get rid of it and its often-related staining without potentially hurting the rock/mineral?

3) since moss is a living thing, will it die in time if I leave it in a dark, dry place?

Thoughts?

17th May 2018 01:28 UTCDoug Schonewald

Bleach will kill it permanently. The only way I know to get it off is blast it off with a mini water gun or pick it off manually with tweezers. It typically takes both to get rid of it.

17th May 2018 01:35 UTCWayne Corwin

Jonelle

Douglas is spot on, bleach and mini pressure washer.

Or bleach and lots of hot sun and stiff brush once its real dead and dryed out.

17th May 2018 02:23 UTCJonelle DeFelice

Hmmmmm... I assume then that bleach does not effect most rocks/minerals?

17th May 2018 03:05 UTCWayne Corwin

Correct, mostly just organics.

17th May 2018 03:12 UTCDoug Schonewald

Here is a solubility chart (lots of stuff in Mindat) https://www.mindat.org/article.php/553/Solubility+Data+on+646+Common+and+Not+So+Common+Minerals

It doesn't include bleach but it should. I've never had anything affected by bleach except clays. It tends to dissolve the glue that holds some clays together. Not altogether bad.

17th May 2018 03:24 UTCWayne Corwin

The one rule I use with bleach is... if your specimen will melt in water, then use NO liquids on it.

17th May 2018 04:57 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

Ammonia works on some organic crusts too. For really tough plant matter, when bleach and ammonia aren't strong enough, you can use NaOH solution (aka "caustic soda", "Plumbers' Helper", etc) or KOH. These are sold in hardware stores for dissolving fat and hair and such stuff blocking drains. So use them carefully, because they will dissolve other organic substances like your skin and eyeballs as well.

Caveat: It is often not worthwhile to clean live organic crusts off of minerals, because lichens and other plants attack rocks and greatly accelerate Nature's weathering processes, so most minerals subjected to such growths can be expected to already be superficially corroded.

17th May 2018 05:05 UTCChristian Auer 🌟 Expert

I also can recommend NaOH over a longer time period. And a hand steam tool give them the rest.

17th May 2018 05:12 UTCWayne Corwin

Another Caveat: NEVER mix bleach and ammonia together, it generates very toxic chloramine vapors!

17th May 2018 07:12 UTCDale Foster Manager

Jonelle DeFelice Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

Hi all

I just scrubbed three rocks/minerals with a toothbrush... first with an "oil-eater" product that we use for most everything, second with

normal bar soap. After all that scrubbing and rinsing, there was STILL some green moss/growth on one of them!

This happens often enough for me to ask:

1) HOW is this stuff STILL stuck to the surface??

2) HOW can I get rid of it and its often-related staining without potentially hurting the rock/mineral?

3) since moss is a living thing, will it die in time if I leave it in a dark, dry place?

Thoughts?

Lichen is an issue I often encounter also algae and moss sometimes as well. Trying to just attack them with a scrubbing brush will remove a bit but they tend to be quite stubborn.

I find the best method is to give them a good soak in sodium hypochlorite (bleach) which I buy in 25 litre drums from the local farm suppliers.

After about half an hour it will have killed and loosened the coatings and they scrub away with ease.

See this thread for results on a specimen: Cleaning a mucky Cassiterite

It goes without saying of course to test on a substandard specimen first to ensure the process won't harm the material you are working with.

I haven't personally had any issues with the organic coatings corroding the underlying minerals, but then the material I am collecting is pretty resilient anyway.

17th May 2018 14:02 UTCLarry Maltby Expert

While collecting at the Nebraska Mine in Michigan’s Copper Country, my son and I found an area on the hillside where chunks of vuggy basalt had weathered for eons of time. The mild acid in rain completely dissolved the calcite that usually fills the center of these vugs and they were covered in moss. I noticed some epidote terminations so I put the specimen in the ultrasonic cleaner. The moss loved it and seemed to revive! I took this photo and decided to work on something else.

17th May 2018 16:41 UTCMatt Courville

'...so I put the specimen in the ultrasonic cleaner. The moss loved it and seemed to revive!'

very interesting Larry! I wonder if this principle could be applied to bio-remediation efforts. It might make for a great thesis if thought out some more.;)

17th May 2018 17:14 UTCJessica Guichard (2)

Larry Maltby Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> While collecting at the Nebraska Mine in

> Michigan’s Copper Country, my son and I found an

> area on the hillside where chunks of vuggy basalt

> had weathered for eons of time. The mild acid in

> rain completely dissolved the calcite that usually

> fills the center of these vugs and they were

> covered in moss. I noticed some epidote

> terminations so I put the specimen in the

> ultrasonic cleaner. The moss loved it and seemed

> to revive! I took this photo and decided to work

> on something else.

>

That is beautiful! I would be tempted to keep the moss on that.

22nd May 2018 01:46 UTCJonelle DeFelice

Interesting info, THANKS folks! Feel free to add to the topic in the future!

HOLD ON, I have another question:

Bleach. It ruins your clothes when you splash it into your favorite t-shirt. I assume that as most minerals don't absorb liquids, the bleach can't effect the color of specimens? Does the bleach have any "cleaning" qualities other than killing off organic growth?

JD

22nd May 2018 06:46 UTCDale Foster Manager

As with any cleaning regime, some materials may be affected by it so always test on a scrap piece first before putting your best material in it.

I have found it can help to loosen some stubborn muck other than organics, but I mainly use it for killing off an loosening lichens etc.

23rd May 2018 16:36 UTCAlfredo Petrov Manager

Jonelle, The most common type of bleach is sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl. It destroys organic colours by oxidation. In some minerals it can do the opposite - create colours that weren't there before - by forming a very thin film of oxide on the surface, as on chalcopyrite, for example. So if one is using bleach to remove organic matter from rocks, one should only do that on minerals not subject to oxidation. It won't hurt quartz or feldspar as they are already fully oxidized.

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