Yeah, that's the gotcha moment.
First time I did citric dip I was massively disappointed and just tossed the parts on some old rags...which rolled over and the rags wiped just a bit to clear the surface gunk.
Picked them up, a proper wipe then a rinse off. Then I was citric hooked!
It doesn't actually cause material loss either, as even though it's an acid, it doesn't work by 'eating' off the surface, whatever it may be, but chemically reacts with the rust.
en.wikipedia.org
If you need some toilet reading.
The upshot is you almost can't leave things in for too long, so you don't need to worry and set timers or whatever. Just dump in and go do whatever for a weekend or so then see what's gone on.
Nice bonus it revived your tank sender too!