Finish your clean up with a good dose of water to flush the area of any residual corrosion. If you don't, it can eat away the paint in the nearby areas. When done cleaning, to help slow down the corrosion process, coat the terminals with grease (high pressure grease or wheel bearing grease works as good as anything).
http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/15120/what-causes-battery-terminal-corrosion
Microbial corrosion, or commonly known as microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), is a corrosion caused or promoted by microorganisms, usually chemoautotrophs. It can apply to both metallic and non-metallic materials, in the presence or absence of oxygen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosion
So, to describe steel corrosion in concrete, it is advisable to define, on the one hand, the penetration of the aggressive agents through concrete and, on the other hand, the conditions of depassivation of reinforcement, then the dissolution rate of metal and the rust growth.
http://www.concretecorrosion.net/html_en/mecanism/contenu.htm
Many structural alloys corrode merely from exposure to moisture in air, but the process can be strongly affected by exposure to certain substances. Corrosion can be concentrated locally to form a pit or crack, or it can extend across a wide area more or less uniformly corroding the surface.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosion
The reinforcement corrosion is initiated, when the products formed on steel do not protect them any more (depassivation), because they become more porous. So, a first criterion of corrosion initiation corresponds to the change of the nature of these products.
http://www.concretecorrosion.net/html_en/mecanism/contenu.htm
When a reinforcement corrodes, it undergoes a more or less localised dissolution, and it is covered with unstable corrosion products (traditional rust of reddish colour). In a rather porous and wet concrete, these products migrate through the cover and can stain the concrete surface.
http://www.concretecorrosion.net/html_en/mecanism/contenu.htm
active oldest votes. up vote 6 down vote accepted. Corrosion on the terminals is due to hydrogen gas being released from the acid in the battery. It mixes with other things in the atmosphere under the hood and produces the corrosion you see on the terminals. Generally, if the corrosion is occurring on the negative terminal, your system is probably undercharging. If on the positive side, it is probably overcharging.
http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/15120/what-causes-battery-terminal-corrosion
You will need to thoroughly clean the corrosion from off the posts. You can use baking soda and water solution to help in this endeavor. Ensure you have eye protection, clothes which you don't care if it possibly gets ruined (acid can do nasty things), and some type of gloves (nitrile gloves work great).
http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/questions/15120/what-causes-battery-terminal-corrosion
Because corrosion is a diffusion-controlled process, it occurs on exposed surfaces. As a result, methods to reduce the activity of the exposed surface, such as passivation and chromate conversion, can increase a material's corrosion resistance.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosion
Corrosion is a natural process, which converts refined metal to their more stable oxide. It is the gradual destruction of materials (usually metals) by chemical reaction with their environment. In the most common use of the word, this means electrochemical oxidation of metal in reaction with an oxidant such as oxygen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrosion
causes of corrosion
Microorganisms, usually chemoautotrophs cause corrosion. Corrosion is caused by microorganisms, usually chemoautotrophs.