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-----Will Chlorine Cause Chrome to Corrode?
Q. Hello,
I am in the process of doing an architectural project which is the renovation of a water filtering plant. The existing building is about 50 years old. Because of the way water is treated prior to us drinking it, the air in this building is constantly humid. It is not damp like an indoor swimming pool, but it does have large open tanks of water. Also, as part of the water treatment process, chlorine is added to the water. I've noticed that anything in the building that is made of aluminum has tarnished and corroded. As part of the renovation we want to replace the corroded items, such as door trim, door hardware, etc., with new ones made of a metal that will not corrode in this environment. I presume stainless steel will not corrode, but stainless steel is very expensive. I was wondering how a chrome finish will hold up in a humid/chlorine environment? Will the chlorine attack the chrome and cause it to corrode?
Thank you.
Howard Weissmanarchitecture - Wilmington, Delaware, USA
2004
A. Theoretically "chlorine" will work fine with stainless and chrome electroplate over nickel, so says the text books and the corrosion tables.
If the chlorine breaks down into free chloRIDE, then you will slowly attack stainless steel, chromium, cracked high stress chromium over nickel, etc. You will get galvanic corrosion in the cracks of the electroplated chromium versus the underlaying nickel.
In residential swimming pools from various sources, most stainless and chrome electroplate stand up, but sometimes we hear of bad corrosion. I suspect that is a function of the pH and "free" chloride in the water.
Robert H Probert
Robert H Probert Technical Services
Garner, North Carolina
2005
Q. I can concur with the fact that steel and chrome plated metals will corrode in such environments; working in a leisure centre I have seen just how bad the rust and corroded metal can get.
C DennisFusion-Lifestyle - Hayes, Middlesex, UK
August 21, 2018
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