For Annual Maintenance And General Cleaning
For easy cleaning, use Scotts® Outdoor Cleaner Plus OxiClean Concentrate to break up dirt and stains caused by moss, mold, mildew, and algae. Its also safe to use around plants, grass, and fabrics.
- Mix and apply according to label directions. Determine the best water-to-cleaner ratio based on the amount of dirt and staining on the concrete. Apply the solution to the surface and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to keep the concrete wet during this time.
- Scrub the surface clean. Use a natural bristle or plastic scrub brush, as metal brushes can shed tiny fibers that work into the porous surface, eventually forming rust spots. A deck brush is an ideal concrete scrubbing tool because it lets you scrub while standing.
- Use a power washer for large areas. If you have a large driveway or patio to clean, a pressure washer will make the job much easier . Unlike many other outdoor cleaners, Scotts® Outdoor Cleaner Plus OxiClean Concentrate can be used in power washers. Be sure to follow the directions on the label.
- Rinse the surface. Spraying off the surface after scrubbing will wash away dirt and foam, leaving it nice and clean.
Removing Mold Mildew Or Moss
Sweeping alone isnt enough to remove mold, moss, or cement from other organic matter. To clean mold stains on your cement, you have to kill the spores or plant material causing the problem.
For really stubborn mold or mildew stains on cement, use a solution of 1/4 cup oxygenated bleach mixed into 1 gallon of hot water. Let this sit in place for 15-30 minutes, then rinse and dry the surface.
Check Scrub And Rinse
Sweep up the kitty litter and inspect the stained area. If it remains, repeat step one. If the stain is nearly gone, spray the area with a commercial degreaser and scrub the stain with a nylon-bristled brush. Rinse with a garden hose and allow to dry. Repeat if needed.
Get your cement patio ready for outdoor entertaining with these cleaning tips from DIY experts.
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Bucket Or Pump Sprayer
The last piece of equipment youll want for this task is a bucket or pump sprayer. These basic tools can help tremendously with applying or washing away your cleaning agent.
Again, since concrete is a porous material, youll need large quantities of your cleaning agent to soak into your patio for an effective clean. The best way to apply this is either mixing it in a basic bucket you might use to wash your car or a nifty pump sprayer.
Cleaning Your Patio Without A Pressure Washer
General patio cleaning does not require special tools or equipment and can be done in just 3 easy steps:
Tip: If youre going to be resealing your patio, wait 24 hours after cleaning for it to air dry. If youre in a hurry, a leaf blower can be used to speed up the drying process.
Akvals / Shutterstock
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Cleaning Concrete Patio With Bleach
Bleach should be the last resort especially when you are dealing with tough stains or sticky grime. Remember safety first use away from children and pets. Put on gloves and gas mask to avoid inhaling bleach. Mix bleach with water and in equal parts and put the solution in a spray bottle.
Spray bleach solution on the stained surface and let it sit for 10 minutes. Dont spray a lot such that it begins to overflow to adjacent flowers or grass. Use a deck brush to scrub off stains and rinse the solution using a garden hose.
Bleach is also effective in getting rid of mold on pavers and patio stones. The solution kills many weeds and some plants. Use with cautious to avoid affecting wanted plants.
After cleaning your brick or concrete patio, let it dry before you return furniture and other objects. Dampness attracts the growth of mold and sea weeds such as green algae and moss on patio stones. If there is no direct sunlight on the surface, find a way of driving away any moisture left behind.
Backyard Paver Patio With Garden Accessories
Garden Backyard Paver Patio with Chairs Umbrella Plants Pots Trees and Decoration
Patios take a beating over the years. You keep the floors of you house clean, so keep your patio clean as well. Spring is a good time to clean so youre ready for peak patio season. Heres how to clean a cement patio.
Move plants, furniture and other accessories off the patio. Sweep the surface to remove dirt and debris. Remove the weeds that may have grown along the edges or between the cracks in the pavers.
For a lightly soiled patio, you can remove dirt with a cleaner and a stiff brush. You can use bleach mixed with water. Add 1/8 cup of liquid dishwashing detergent to the solution and put into a spray bottle. Spray the solution onto the surface, let sit for a few minutes and then scrub with a stiff nylon-bristled brush. Dont use a metallic brush because it can leave metal bits on the concrete that rust and stain the patio. If you have flowerbeds surrounding your patio, protect them as well. Bleach will harm the plants. Rinse the bleach off with the hose. Oxygen bleach is a safer option. Dilute with water and spray on the patio, then rinse off. For tough stains, mix oxygen bleach with water to make a paste the consistency of peanut butter. Apply to stained areas and let sit for an hour. Scrub with a nylon-bristle brush.
You can also make natural, eco-friendly cleaners from ingredients in your kitchen.
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How To Remove Rust Stains From Concrete
Ugly rust stains might emerge on your concrete patio if a metal object, such as an old garden tool or a bristle from a wire brush, was left on its surface, especially during a rainstorm. Thankfully, its easy to use an acid like lemon juice, white vinegar, or even a cola soft drink to dissolve the rust on your concrete patio.
These everyday household products each make an excellent rust remover. Pour your chosen acid onto the rust stain and allow it to sit there for at least ten minutes. Scrub at the stain using a scrub brush and rinse the concrete with cold water. Voilà! One rust-free concrete patio.
All you need to clean your patio with one of these easy methods are products that you likely already have around your house, such as dish soap and vinegar, and standard cleaning tools like a broom and a nonmetallic scrub brush.
Purchase any additional items, such as hydrogen peroxide, if necessary, and then youre good to go. If you were puzzling over how to clean a concrete patio, now all you need to do is gather these supplies and get started.
Whether you decide to sweep, spray, or sprinkle, with our easy concrete cleaning solutions, youll soon be able to sit on your patio without wincing at the grime and stains.
How To Clean Concrete Patio With Baking Soda
Like vinegar, baking soda is an environmentally friendly cleaner for your patio. It could be an exceptional option for anyone who wants to evade commercial cleaners.
Now, the question is about how to clean concrete patio without pressure washer, but you will use baking soda instead.
First, mix 90 grams of baking soda with 4 liters of water. Put the blend into a small sprayer. Then, you can begin to spray the stains.
Should you need something stronger, you can try adding a few squirts of liquid dish detergent. Spray the mixture on the stains and let it sit for 20 minutes so that it can break down the grime and dirt.
After 20 minutes, you can begin to scrub the patio thoroughly. You will soon notice that the grime begins to vanish.
After that, grab your garden hose to rinse off the area. Let the concrete dry before you put the furniture back in its place.
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Cleaning A Cement Patio
The floors of your house are precious to you, and thats why you keep them clean well, the same should go for your patio. We suggest cleaning your patio in the spring, before peak patio season.
Before applying a DIY concrete patio cleaner, be sure to remove all extras from the concrete . Then, sweep away any dirt or debris present on the patio and apply homemade concrete patio cleaner.
- 1/8 cup dishwashing detergent
Mix bleach with water and then add dishwashing detergent to the mix and put it into a spray bottle. Spray the solution onto the cement patio, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub the mix into the concrete with a stiff brush.
How Do You Get Stains Out Of Concrete
As you can see above, there were still a few stained areas on the porch. Stains can be extremely difficult to get out of concrete since its a porous material. Thus, you have to draw them out. To get stains out, make a thick paste using your cleanerit should be the consistency of peanut butter. Spread the paste mixture onto the stain and let it sit for a few hours, then scrape it away and rinse. Repeat as necessary.
See? So much better!
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Easy Ways To Clean A Concrete Patio
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A pressure washer might seem like one of those tools that you never really get quality use out of, but it can be a highly valuable tool.
Whether you are using it to clean dirty siding, hose down toys for the kids that have been in storage, or spray down dirt that has dried onto the sidewalk, a pressure washer is highly useful.
It can also be used to clean a backyard concrete patio in an effective way. Keeping your patio clean will make it more aesthetically pleasing, creating a great hangout space for you, your friends, and your family to enjoy.
But a pressure washer is not something that all of us have available. They can be a bit pricey and you may not wind up using it enough to justify the costs.
That leaves you wondering what to do in instances where you need something deeply cleaned but dont have a pressure washer to get the job done.
Not only that, a pressure washer can actually do damage to your home if you dont have the skills to properly operate it. It can result in serious damage such as pitting lines or surface degradation if you leave the spray in the same place for too long.
There can also be damage to the mortar that is in between the brick since the joint sand can be washed away.
Natural Concrete Cleaning Solution For Pressure Washers
Power washers are by far the most accessible tool to use when trying to clean the exterior of your home, especially when it comes to concrete. If made right, a homemade concrete cleaning solution for pressure washer can kill off mold, too.
To start making your solution, pour one gallon of water into a bucket. Try to get the water to a hot temperature. Then, add baking soda little by little and stir while adding the baking soda until it has dissolved into the water. Add in one quart of household bleach and dish detergent, then mix slowly to avoid the suds from overpowering the bucket.
Once this natural cleaner is mixed together, pour it into the pressure washer and follow the directions for the tool as stated on the packaging for the best DIY cleaning result.
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How To Clean Concrete Driveway
You may wonder, What can I use to clean my concrete driveway? Just like concrete patios, you can use a homemade bleach or vinegar solution. You can also use a mixture of water and trisodium phosphate, though it is more harmful to the environment. Other than that, you can use muriatic acid to clean concrete, but it is highly toxic. As such, when using muriatic acid, make sure to wear the proper protective gear.
Here are the steps you should take when cleaning concrete driveways:
- Sweep away any loose dirt, dust, and debris.
- Apply a commercial or homemade concrete cleaner to the surface and scrub using a stiff nylon brush.
- Alternatively, you can use a pressure washer to apply the cleaner and let it sit for 5 to 7 minutes.
What To Use To Clean Concrete
Be careful with the concrete cleaning products you use as some cannot come into contact with paint, and you also want to make sure that run-off does not go into your garden. Some chemicals can be harmful, especially to animals and children, so maybe a natural cleaning solution is best. A conventional concrete cleaner that used to be favored is trisodium phosphate, which has a very strong base and can cause skin burns, blisters, coughing, sore throat, and burning red eyes.
Similarly, chlorine bleach irritates mucous membranes, can cause eye and skin irritations and is hard on the lungs. Hydrochloric acid is probably the most common chemical for cleaning concrete. However, it is corrosive to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes. That being said, you can get your concrete clean with a variety of environmentally friendly, homemade products without the use of harsh chemicals and hired equipment such as a power washer.
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Tips To Keep Your Patio Clean Longer
For those who followed the instructions, scrubbed hard, and used the solution a few times without much luck, know that sometimes tougher measures are called for. A product like Wet & Forget should do the job. While the label says it is bleach-free, phosphate-free, non-acidic, and safe near plants and on all outdoor surfaces , do take caution when using this product. Wear rubber gloves and avoid unnecessary dripping into your garden or grass.
Follow the directions on the container of the cleaning product, making sure that the previous cleaning solvents have been thoroughly rinsed off with a strong blast from the hose. While the product used may claim that scrubbing isn’t necessary, it will probably be necessary to have those sleeves rolled up continue to scrub the moldy/mossy area until it’s free of all the green stuff.
Try revisiting the area in a week or two to keep on top of the mold and mildew. Persistence will pay offif you regularly do a light cleaning of the space, more thorough cleanings every few months won’t be necessary.
General Cleaning For Dirty Cement
Before you begin cleaning cement stains, general cleaning of the entire surface.
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Negatives Of Pressure Washing Concrete Patios
If youve ever had something pressure washed, you probably realize how satisfying it is to see the process.
The unsatisfying part? Paying boatloads of money on a professional or for specialized equipment.
And if you hire someone who doesnt know what they are doing, they can cause irreparable damage to your house, concrete, or landscaping.
So are there any easy solutions to clean that dirty concrete patio without a pressure washer?
Fortunately, there are!
Cleaning Leaf Stains From A Driveway
Stains on concrete driveways from leaves, grass, tree sap, and other organic materials can be tough to remove. They typically require special cleaners formulated for the removal of organic stains. These cleaners typically do not affect the concrete color or harm the surface because the enzymes only target organic material.
Follow these steps:
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Can I Use Muriatic Acid To Remove Grease Stains On Concrete
Yes. Using muriatic acid is the usual go-to method when other milder stain removal techniques are unsuccessful in eliminating stubborn grease stains on concrete surfaces. This potent acid can clean grease-stained concrete surfaces by causing acid etching on your concrete. However, this method is not ideal in removing stains, as handling muriatic acid is extremely dangerous.
Bleach Detergent And Water
A combination of oxygen bleach , dish detergent, and water should only be used in serious situations.
Yet again, keep your kids and pets away for this application.
Pro Tip: Always use oxygen bleach rather than chlorine bleach so that you dont harm any surrounding plant or wildliek with the runoff.
- CHLORINE FREE – Concentrated oxygen bleach formula cleans all the way
- SAFE AND EFFECTIVE – Naturally releases safe peroxide and oxygen
- MULTIPURPOSE Multiuse bleach safely removes soil from anything washable. Safe for the environment and the septic system
Mix together 5 parts of water, 1 part of bleach, and one part of dish detergent in a watering can or bucket. Pour the mixture onto your concrete patio and start brushing.
As you brush, you should notice that the mixture starts foaming.
You want the entire patio to foam up. Now, wait 15 minutes and let the bleach get to work. Afterward, rinse the patio well and youre all done.
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