Is brass bad for you?

[New_World]

this may have been covered before..not sure though.
I have those old brass super t tips.
is it bad for you?
should I clean my tips with brasso and rinse them in water?


i feel as if I should clean any old tranished brass and use dish soap and dry and it might be fine.

your thoughts?

 

[Freckle]

I have seen some use ketchup to clean brass. I may go that route before using some other chemical for a drip tip. That is just me though. Do a simple google search for ways to clean brass. I found a few at one time had vinegar and flour with lemon juice.

 

[nomoe]

taco sauce from taco bell will clean brass and copper better then anything i have seen. just soak it overnight

 

[snork]

Once in awhile the safety of brass comes up, apparently because it may contain lead. I have zero knowledge of metallurgy so this is what I've only read in passing, more info could undoubtedly be found by Search.

 

[anavidfan]

Like snork stated, the safety of Brass has been discussed a lot. From what Ive read on many posts is that Brass comes in many different quality, just like stainless steel. Lower cost brass contains more of certain alloys, one of which is lead. The cost and quality all depends on the ratio of the brass.

From what many have concluded is that Naval brass is one that some of the more expensive drip tips are made of and I think does not contain lead.

Brass throughout history has been used in many items from goblets, plates, and utensils for eating. I think that now adays its used for decorative purposes.

If your are more concerned with the safety of the cleaning ingredients, you have to remember weather its ketchup or vinegar or autosol etc. Its the chemical reaction when those chemicals natural or man made, its still possible to get a toxic residue even with ketchup.

I think that if you clean the drip tip and rinse it well, you should be safe.

 

[raqball]

David use to make brass dip tips back in the day but quit making them for some reason that I can't remember.

It was either because of all the hoopla over brass being bad or maybe he had another reason.

I really would not worry about it.. I don't know where you live but lets take LA for example. I am sure breathing the LA air is worse than putting a brass drip tip to your lips..

My .02

 

[jasl90]

Brass on it's own is not a problem. In many cases, very small amounts of lead are included in the alloy to aid in machinability.

Due to US & European standards, the amount of lead in the alloy will be minimal. Considering that the tip came from Super-T (not china) there is a pretty good chance the brass is completely lead free... David would be the one to verify the specific alloy.

If you're concerned, you can purchase lead test kits at Lowes & Home Depot. If lead is detected on the surface, it can be easily removed with a mixture of 2 parts white vinegar and 1 part hydrogen peroxide (the 3% over the counter variety). Just soak the brass part in the solution for a few minutes until the brass turns a bright golden color... Don't leave it in too long...