Cleaning Concrete Before Staining

If using paste allow it to dry and try to scrape the glue from the concrete again.

Cleaning concrete before staining.

Hydrogen peroxide or ammonia also work well too. For grease stains on concrete try scrubbing the stain with lacquer thinner or mineral spirits. Using a scrub brush with a long handle makes cleaning much easier. For many years it was a standard method of concrete preparation used by nearly all industrial commercial and institutional floor coating installers depending on the floor size and system to be installed.

Schmidt also warns against acid etching of floors before staining. Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water. A solution of tsp trisodium phosphate and a lot of elbow grease with a scrub brush would be your best bet. Carpet glue tile mastics water and urine stains chalk marks caulk grease stains paint drips and rust spots are just a few of the contaminants you may encounter once you remove an existing floor covering.

Because many oils and petroleum based contaminants can be hard to see until after the stain is applied we recommend that you first scrub the area with a concrete degreaser. To remove pour one eighth of a cup of liquid dishwashing detergent into a spray bottle then top off the bottle with warm water and shake well. But acid washing depletes the lime content which is what the minerals in the acid stain react with. If you will be sealing your concrete after cleaning or need to clean a deck before staining look over our recipes for stain removal to bring back the original color of the material.

General soil most concrete or cement cleaning projects should begin with general cleaning of the entire surface. Do choose the right cleaning product for the job see questions to ask when choosing a concrete cleaner or degreaser. Before cleaning your concrete or even staining your deck you need to get rid of dirt and leaves that may be on the surface. Sweep the surface with a push broom to remove debris.

Your supplies are likely to be a bucket scrub brush and detergent. Spray the concrete stains with the soap solution. Another option would be to use a pressure washer to clean the concrete slab. 6 if scraping alone does not work apply either a nonflammable chemical stripper or a powdered hydrated lime paste to the stained area.

Attempt to scrape any of the glue or caulk off of the floor with a putty knife or floor scraper. First before doing your final clean ensure the concrete is free from all contaminants. The bad news for the fastidious homeowner is that. Because acid stains need to penetrate into the concrete surface to work it s especially important that the concrete surface is completely clean.

Hose the area and then sprinkle it with an oxygenated bleach oxiclean is one which won t harm your lawn or any plants lining your driveway.