Using Hydrochloric Acid (HCl)

Hydrochloric acid is either concentrated or diluted. Handle it carefully because it burns!

Storage:

Keep hydrochloric acid in glass bottles. Also keep it away from metal because it will corrode metals and could make hydrogen gas.

Protection:

Wearing safety glasses is a good idea. Using latex gloves and old clothes makes sense, too. Wearing short-sleeved shirts, shorts, or sandals is a bad idea. Breathing the fumes can knock you out! When acid spills on your skin, rinse it with water for a few minutes. Use a gauze bandage for small burns. With serious burns, go to a doctor.

Uses:

In the lab, you will either dilute or titrate hydrochloric acid. When diluting, pore the acid into the water. Doing it the other way isn’t safe. In titration, use a buret to measure what HCl you need to react with sodium hydroxide or sodium carbonate. Your measurement of the base will be right, then.

Disposal:

Neutralize leftover HCl by mixing the acid with a sodium hydroxide solution. Flush it down the drain. Cover a spill of HCl with baking soda. After the fizzing stops, sweep up the soda and put it in the garbage or drain.