Talk:Stainless steel soap
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The following text deleted:
"Chemically, the particles responsible for the smell aren't removed, they react with the ions present in the steel, changing them to a form that is undetectable, or not pungent to the human smell receptors."
on the basis:
- no experimental evidence or plausible chemical mechanism that smell 'particles' are changed by steel
- steel 'ions' - metal ions are static positive ions in a sea of electrons [1]; there is not evidence that metal ions react in the way described
- no evidence of chemical reactions that take place at the surface of stainless steel - and if they did a film of compound would form, reducing the supposed activity of the steel. Stainless steel, by its nature, doesn't tarnish.
Paraffinbrain 12:56, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Test it yourself on garlic
The "stainless steel garlic effect" is very odd. After chopping garlic, your fingers are covered with odorous grease, and scrubbing with dish-detergent does not eliminate the odor. However, if you rub your fingers on wet stainless steel, the odor greatly reduces. Try it yourself. (Also try first rubbing your fingers on many other wet surfaces to compare the effect.)
But doesn't this mean that stainless steel forks and spoons would have a large effect on the flavor of certain foods?!! --Wjbeaty 19:54, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
- I think the stainless steel soaps work in conjunction with rinsing water, as they help rub the odors off. For example, after my hands get smelly with onion, it helps to rub them on a stainless steel sink, while water is running over them. It won't do much at all to simply rub them over the steel. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Moeburn (talk • contribs) 21:40, 9 December 2006 (UTC).
[edit] Image?
Hi. Do you need an image? I just took one. When possible I will try to upload it. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 17:54, 2 March 2008 (UTC)
- Hi. I just added the image to the article. Thanks. ~AH1(TCU) 22:49, 3 March 2008 (UTC)
- Nice, thanks! Sancho 17:47, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
[edit] Article is biased
The article was apparently written by someone who has never used a stainless steel soap, because they do work. Indeed, there are no formal studies on the mechanism, but this doesn't mean that the effect doesn't exist, or that there are no plausible explanations. Stainless steel consists of mainly iron and chromium, and has a thin layer of chromium (III) oxide on it. Metal oxides are Lewis acids and readily catalyze oxidations. Iron and chromium oxides are well-known oxidation catalysts, effective for industrial-scale oxidation of odorous reduced sulfur compounds. See, for example, Example 1 in U.S. Patent 6,083,471. Another plausible explanation is that a thin layer of grease, containing the odorous compounds, is rubbed off mechanically onto the rough brushed steel surface. --Vuo (talk) 09:37, 8 June 2008 (UTC)
