Removing bleach from an iron vessel?

Question

Hi. Accidentally I spilt bleach into an iron vessel and when I washed it out, I saw that the entire area where the bleach came into contact with the vessel was now black, due to the bleach. Is there any way of removing these stains from the vessel, as I love that vessel. Thanks very much.

Answer 1

The bleach (sodium hypochlorite) reacted with the iron, probably to create iron chloride and saltwater. Since it only affected the top layer of atoms in the iron, I would use steel wool, starting out with the finest grade (0000, or very fine) and rubbing to remove the oxidation. It should come off.