Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 May 19, 2009 1:44 pm We live on nearly two acres in SE Qld and are in the process of having a smaller courtyard style fence erected out from our alfresco area. Up until now, our fully grown glamour coat German Shepherd has been allowed full access of this alfresco area and has left large dirty stained areas where he has rested on the concrete while wet (and most likely dirty). Given that he won't continue to have access to this area, we are wanting to clean the concrete as best we can once the fence is fully erected. To date, we have tried Truckwash and high pressure cleaning; sugar soap neat (and scrubbing); equal parts of white vinegar and metho (and scrubbing) and haven't noticed any discernable difference. A friend suggested liquid chlorine neat left for about five minutes and then hosed off with a high pressure cleaner, but I would be happy to hear others' suggestions. Thanks in anticipation TM. We built our dream home on acreage nearly a year ago. House #2 with Adenbrook and we love it! Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 2May 19, 2009 9:03 pm I've had success with bleach; it kills any mouldy bits and does a great job of just generally cleaning the dirt away. Other than that I have used baking soda before, if it's just dirt the action of baking soda when applied to a wet surface can help lift the dirt, allowing you to scrub clean (you can use baking soda with vinegar also, for a more 'bubbly' action). Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 3May 20, 2009 8:10 am Thankyou we will give it a go once the torrential rain stops TM We built our dream home on acreage nearly a year ago. House #2 with Adenbrook and we love it! Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 4May 20, 2009 7:21 pm I too was going to suggest baking soda and vinegar, sprinkle the baking powder onto dry concrete and then add the vinegar and watch the bubbles and then scrub!! 'A bottle of wine contains more philosophy than all the books in the world.' Louis Pasteur Vegie garden: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27637&start=0 My Backyard Adventure Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 5May 20, 2009 8:22 pm I've always used white king bleach mixed in hot water. I then pour it over the concrete and scrub it with a firm bristle broom. I usually leave it soaking for a few minutes then hose it off. I have been known not to hose it off, but if the concrete is fairly dirty I'd recommend hosing it off to stop the dirt resettling. Good luck Custom downslope build Build thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=61873 Blog http://www.buildingroyalmanor.blogspot.com.au Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 6May 21, 2009 12:53 am years gao we used to use chlorine granules sprinkled on and scrubbed, then washed off. I don't think it is an enviro option these days though It sure will work like you have never seen Make sure it is very well ventilated The above suggestions would be the go. even a mild mix of hydrochloric acid like when you clean bricks down. Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 7May 21, 2009 9:52 am Thankyou all for your suggestions. I guess I'll start at the top and work my way through all of your suggestions! Thanks again! TM We built our dream home on acreage nearly a year ago. House #2 with Adenbrook and we love it! Re: Cleaning stained concrete. Please HELP!! 8May 21, 2009 10:31 am Hmmm, I was thinking sodium hypo(pool chlorine) as suggested by your friend. But this will only bleach dirt, not remove it. seeing as how you have high pressure washed and presumably removed loose dirt I figure bleaching is next Where you are coming from is where you are going to... No, I even have sections of narrowness where the tiles won't slide up any further. When I manage some spare time, I might play around with the first DIY part of my… 7 5084 i had the my concreters concrete right up to the fence. I have pits all along my path, so the water tends to drain away from the house and into the pits. There's only one… 7 13060 Yep, efflorescence as mentioned above. You could look to clean it with a "acid" based cleaner and then seal with a penetrating sealer. This may not stop it entirely but… 3 6373 |