An aqueous solution for removing ferric oxide from ferrous metals or from ion exchange materials comprises a soluble dithionite salt e g an alkali metal dithionite or a chelating agent for ferrous ions such as E D T A or X5P3O10 XPO3 6 X4P2O7 and X2HPO4 where X is an alkali metal The molar ratio of dithionite to chelating agent should be between 1 2 to 2 1 and the