Not only is it safe for you and the environment, but it's also inexpensive and readily available. Just use caution when cleaning unfinished concrete with vinegar. Do not let vinegar sit on unfinished concrete for longer than ten to 15 minutes, or it will cause damage.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
Simply fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar (or water and baking soda), and add a little bit of liquid dish detergent. Spray the mixture on your concrete surface and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then scrub and rinse your concrete.
White vinegar will not damage your concrete. However, leaving this solution for an extended period will damage the cement that binds the concrete together. Hence, you should be careful when using vinegar on your concrete, especially if you will use this solution on polished concrete.
Vinegar does not dissolve concrete itself but can degrade the cement that binds concrete together. As a weak, dilute acid, vinegar will cause only minor damage to concrete but can take the shine off polished surfaces. It can, however, be used to remove small amounts of cement from tools.
Vinegar is not recommended for use on natural stone, waxed wood, cast iron or aluminum. “Set time,” or the time a disinfectant must rest on a surface in order to work effectively, is also important. The set time for vinegar can be up to 30 minutes.
If you have sensitive skin, it's best to avoid leaving apple cider vinegar on your face overnight, and avoid undiluted ACV. The acidic nature of apple cider vinegar can cause skin irritation and redness, especially if you have a history of skin allergies or other skin conditions, like eczema or psoriasis.
Rinsing is not necessary! If you're simply using a vinegar and water solution to wipe and disinfect, you won't need to rinse. However, if there's also plenty of dirt and grime you're wiping away, you may also want to rinse with some extra water.
Despite the signal word danger on most such labels, gardeners may instead just see vinegar and be careless. Sobering details: In concentrations over 11%, acetic acid can burn skin and cause eye damage, and concentrations of 20% and above are corrosive to tin, aluminum, iron, and concrete and can even cause blindness.
Dish soap and water: Dish soap is a degreaser, and it works well to clean oily and grimy concrete. Create a cleaning solution of warm water and few drops of dish soap and apply it to the surface. Let it sit for a while, then mop the patio and rinse it with fresh water. Repeat the process as many times as needed.
Spraying a vinegar solution (1 cup of vinegar per gallon of water) onto the surface, saturating it fully, should kill most strains of mold. Vinegar spray can be followed by power washing or manual hand scrubbing to remove the dead mold.
You should never attempt to clean your sealed or polished concrete floors with ammonia, bleach, citrus cleaners, pine based cleaners, vinegar or any highly acidic substance. These are not pH neutral, and could break down or dull the sealant on your concrete flooring.
So when it comes to removing mold with vinegar, it's best to avoid leaving it overnight and stick with the 30 minutes to 1 hour sitting time.
Combine 1/4 cup of liquid bleach with 1 gallon of hot water in a large bucket. To avoid damaging your lawn or walkways, always dilute your bleach and control your runoff when rinsing. Soak your brush in the solution and scrub the entire area until it's fully saturated.
The instructions with most acid stains (as well as concrete sealers and coatings) say to wait at least 28 days after pouring a slab before finishing it, with some recommending as long as 60 days.
If the surface is more than 5 days old, a light acid wash and pressure clean are required prior to sealing. Acid etch with hydrochloric acid. Dilute 20 parts water to 1 part Dulux Avista Hydrochloric Acid (depending on porosity) to remove any loosely bound cement and laitance.
The acid stops reacting with the concrete after approximately 30 seconds so there is no need to scrub the surfaces for too long.
In fact, vinegar removes mold from concrete better than bleach. Bleach will only remove the top layer of mold, causing the mold to return.
Use a detergent such as Dawn or Ajax dishwashing liquid mixed with water to brighten a concrete patio that hasn't been cleaned in a while. Use a detergent such as Dawn or Ajax dishwashing liquid mixed with water to brighten a concrete patio that hasn't been cleaned in a while.
Vinegar is acidic and will eventually kill most broadleaf weeds, but the acid will kill the leaves before reaching the root system, and the weeds may grow back quickly. For longer-lasting removal, mix 1 cup of table salt with 1 gallon of vinegar. Salt dries out the weed's root system.
White vinegar with an acetic acid content of at least 5% will be required to kill most weeds effectively. Apple cider vinegar with the same acid content will also work, though, for tough perennial weeds, you may need a specialised horticultural vinegar with 20% acetic acid.
Once again, acetic acid will wreak havoc with your block paving. Porous stones like limestone and sandstone are more susceptible to damage than most, as the vinegar can seep into the stones themselves, though even sealed and non-porous stones can discolour and bleach.
Pour equal parts of vinegar and Dawn into a spray bottle. Gently shake, then spray liberally onto the surface to be cleaned.