Intercept Silver and Jewelry Care Co. sells corrosion inhibitors, and just like any other industry we face competing products.

However, there’s crucially important information for those shopping for corrosion inhibitor products:

Some corrosion inhibitors use ineffective & dangerous materials, compromise the integrity of you jewelry through residue and inevitably require more polishing and cleaning.

This Article Requires a Quick Preface

There is a certain designation of corrosion inhibitor that we’ll be unable to name throughout this article...this is for legal purposes. 

The objective of this article is to increase consumer awareness of potentially dangerous chemicals and materials in certain corrosion inhibitors.

Because we cannot explicitly state other brands of corrosion inhibitors in this article, we will hereby refer to corrosion inhibitors as either:

Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors
or
Other Corrosion Inhibitors.

Not all products in the Other Corrosion Inhibitors category are dangerous, but a great many of them are.

While we cannot directly name the brands contained in the category itself, we will say that members of the Other Corrosion Inhibitors group have a presence in the packaging marketplace, and that if you’ve browsed for anti corrosion products before, you’ve more than likely come across them.

How Different Corrosion Inhibitors Work

An anti tarnish or corrosion inhibitor has one primary purpose - to stop the degradation of whatever they’re aimed to protect.

Corrosion inhibitors can be used to protect a wide range of things, including jewelry, tools, engines, electronics, heavy machinery, etc.

Products like these contain metals that corrode over time when exposed to certain reactive gases in the atmosphere, and this results in increased costs, reduced efficiencies and additional labor for those involved.

Corrosion inhibitors work in one of three ways:

Neutralizing, Absorbing or Blocking Reactive Gases.

    Neutralizing Reactive Gases  

In order for a corrosion inhibitor to completely neutralize a reactive gas, it must absorb and retain it.

Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors neutralize gases by acting as a “preferential site of corrosion” and bonding with the Intercept™ material.

This means that the Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors themselves corrode, essentially “taking one for the team” and leaving the item it has been stored with protected.

Rather than the protected item tarnishing, the Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitor itself tarnishes.

Once the Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitor begins to turn black, one simply disposes of it, fully removing the reactive gases from the equation and then utilizing a new Intercept bag, strip or pouch. 

 Absorbing Reactive Gases 

Some Other Corrosion Inhibitors will absorb reactive gases present in the atmosphere, but not completely neutralize them.

These types of products simply retain the reactive gases until reaching their maximum saturation point or until fluctuations in temperature and humidity cause them to outgas. Outgassing is the process by which a solid releases a gas that had been previously absorbed or trapped.

By re-releasing these contaminents, Other Corrosion Inhibitors that absorb reactive gases without neutralizing them inadvertently coat the objects they were intended to protect with agents of tarnish. Needless to say, these types of corrosion inhibitors are counterproductive. 

 Blocking Reactive Gases 

Other Corrosion Inhibitors, however, don’t absorb and retain reactive gases.

They contain oils that vaporize into a chemical cloud/barrier layer inside their containers and in most instances, this barrier coats the item it's supposed to protect, hypothetically keeping reactive gases from causing corrosion on the item they’ve been placed with.

Inserted into coatings, adhesives, plastics, powders and sprays, these chemicals leave deposits on the items they’re designed to protect and are often inefficient.

These corrosion inhibitors never truly neutralize the reactive gases in the first place. Rather than protecting the materials they're intended to, Other Corrosion Inhibitors that utilize barrier layers can harm precious metals and serve as a potential health hazard.

What Chemicals Form the “Barrier Layers” In Other Corrosion Inhibitors?

A customer looking for an anti tarnish product may come across a multitude of Other Corrosion Inhibitors and think they sound effective. But what’s in these anti tarnish materials?

Nobody really knows because Other Corrosion Inhibitors rarely list the chemicals in their formulas.

Many Other Corrosion Inhibitors don’t display their active ingredients and materials by way of listing them as “trade secrets”, meaning they aren’t obligated to disclose what they’re comprised of.

There has been research done by independent laboratories, however, and these are just some of the active ingredients that have been found in Other Corrosion Inhibitors:

Make no mistake, this is only a small sampling, and many other chemicals have been found in Other Corrosion Inhibitors as well.

Many of the chemicals found in Other Corrosion Inhibitors have been found to be carcinogenic, are on the EPA Registered Pesticide List, OSHA’s Air Contaminants List, and some are even flagged by the Chemical Weapons Convention due to their use as a potential ingredient.

Other Corrosion Inhibitors V.S. Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors 

Compare the previous list with that of the ingredients in Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors:

As you can see, there’s quite a difference. Intercept^™ Corrosion Inhibitors are patented and since we don't claim "trade secrets", we have nothing to hide.

Our products contain a high surface area copper embedded into a polymer and nothing else.
No volatiles, no carcinogens, no abrasives!

Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors have won environment awards, whereas many Other Corrosion Inhibitors have restrictions placed on them in other countries regarding health and environmental concerns.

These are important things to keep in mind when shopping for anti tarnish/corrosion inhibitor products. Regardless of whether or not you purchase Intercept™ Corrosion Inhibitors, we felt this was vital information that should be shared with you.