Cleaning Concrete Before Staining

Sweep the surface with a push broom to remove debris.

Cleaning concrete before staining.

Hydrogen peroxide or ammonia also work well too. Before cleaning your concrete or even staining your deck you need to get rid of dirt and leaves that may be on the surface. 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. The bad news for the fastidious homeowner is that.

Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water. 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. Do choose the right cleaning product for the job see questions to ask when choosing a concrete cleaner or degreaser.

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. 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. General soil most concrete or cement cleaning projects should begin with general cleaning of the entire surface. But acid washing depletes the lime content which is what the minerals in the acid stain react with.

First before doing your final clean ensure the concrete is free from all contaminants. 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. Your supplies are likely to be a bucket scrub brush and detergent.

Strip any curing agents or waxes remove any paints or glues ensure there is no grease or oils. 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. If using paste allow it to dry and try to scrape the glue from the concrete again. A lot of people think they need to acid etch the concrete like they do before applying a paint or coating to get the paint to adhere.

A solution of tsp trisodium phosphate and a lot of elbow grease with a scrub brush would be your best bet. Spray the concrete stains with the soap solution. Because acid stains need to penetrate into the concrete surface to work it s especially important that the concrete surface is completely clean. Schmidt also warns against acid etching of floors before staining.

Another option would be to use a pressure washer to clean the concrete slab.