What is the best cleaner for concrete?

Author: Ross Zemlak  |  Last update: Wednesday, April 30, 2025

Bleach. If your concrete is dull and sprouting weeds or mold, bleach is your best option for cleaning and brightening concrete. Mix a cup of bleach into a 5-gallon bucket of warm water, then spray or pour over concrete. Rinse thoroughly with water.

What is the best thing to clean concrete with?

Cleaning dirty concrete is fairly easy using a detergent or degreaser. You can use something simple like Dawn dish soap to various degreasers you can find at Lowes or Home Depot. Zep Purple works well on concrete. Eventually you'll need to find the chemical distributors in your town and see what's available.

What does vinegar do to concrete?

Vinegar is an acidic cleaner that can etch concrete if used undiluted or left on for too long. However, when used appropriately, diluted vinegar can effectively clean concrete driveways, removing stains and grime while being a cost-effective and natural cleaning solution.

Is Dawn good for cleaning concrete?

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. Just as you would regularly vacuum the floor and dust your furniture inside your house, you should keep your patio clean so it's ready at a moment's notice to entertain.

How do professionals clean concrete?

Sweep off or vacuum up any loose dirt, dust, and debris from the concrete surface. Using a garden hose, wet the concrete. Then, apply a mixture of trisodium phosphate and water, scrubbing the solution onto the surface using a stiff-bristled broom. You can also use a pressure washer for this step.

Cleaning Concrete is Easy with 30 SECONDS Outdoor Cleaner

What chemical do you need to clean concrete?

Cleaning concrete with muriatic acid can be a highly effective solution if used correctly, providing ultra-bright white concrete and removal of many types of stains. In one application, you can remove rust stains, oil stains, algae, and paint splatter with a quick chemical application followed by pressure washing.

Does vinegar remove oil stains from concrete?

The best driveway cleaner for oil stains is an absorbent material such as baking soda or cat litter to soak up the oil, followed by scrubbing a white vinegar or liquid detergent cleaning solution into the surface. Rinse the area with a pressure washer or garden hose with a spray nozzle.

What is the best soap to clean concrete with?

Use Dish Soap and Water

Ordinary household dish soap as a degreaser is extremely useful for cleaning up oily, grimy concrete stains while avoiding the use of harmful chemicals. Start with two gallons of warm water and a mere two teaspoons of dish soap in a standard bucket.

What is the best thing to clean a patio with?

Household vinegar is excellent for cleaning with many uses around the home and can be used on patios for dirt and stains that are hard to shift. Use white vinegar rather than malt vinegar, which has a strong smell.

What to spray on concrete before pressure washing?

Applying the Pretreatment

While wearing protective gear, such as gloves and goggles, mix a cleaning solution typically consisting of water, bleach, and mild soap in a ratio that ensures effective cleansing without damaging the concrete.

What does WD-40 do to concrete?

WD-40 can do more than eliminate unpleasant door squeaks – it may also help remove oil stains in your driveway, according to Reader's Digest. That's because it has ingredients that can penetrate grease. Spray a liberal amount on the area and let it sit for 20 minutes, adds Organic Lesson, then wipe the area clean.

Is vinegar or bleach better for concrete?

Vinegar is better for the environment and the preferred choice for cleaning concrete as it is cheap and effective. Wash bays are experts in keeping their concrete clean.

How do you make homemade concrete cleaner?

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.

How do you make concrete look new again?

3 Ways to Make Old Concrete Look New Again
  1. Power Wash. Over time, your concrete will accumulate grime and dirt. ...
  2. Resurface. If you're looking for a quick and easy way to improve your curb appeal, resurfacing your concrete steps and driveway is a great way to start. ...
  3. Add Stain or Sealing Coats.

Does bleach harm concrete?

While bleach will not harm concrete, it might eat away at a concrete sealer or coating, especially if the bleach solution is not rinsed off well after application. Bleach is highly corrosive and can be a serious environmental and health hazard when used incorrectly (see Precautions to Take When Using Bleach).

What is in 30 seconds outdoor cleaner?

30 Seconds Ready To Use Outdoor Cleaner is made from a combination of ingredients, with the active ingredient being Sodium Hypochlorite. What happens when you apply the product is that it works immediately on any organics by emulsifying the growth.

What is the best cleaner for concrete patios?

Vinegar or baking soda: These natural cleaners work well to clean cement patios with stubborn charcoal or rust spots. Mix equal parts vinegar and water, scrub the patio with the mixture, then give it a good rinse. If stains don't dissolve, try undiluted vinegar.

Can I use Dawn to clean my patio?

A gentle dish soap like Dawn is best for cleaning stone patios, walkways and driveways. If you're in doubt, test a small, inconspicuous area with the cleaning solution before you apply it to the entire paver area.

What is better than wet and forget?

Bio-Shield® is Proven Effective

Bio-Shield will give a powerful, rapid kill of moss, fungal, algal and lichen growths, and can prevent re-growths. It can be used to clean any exterior surface.

How do you make homemade patio cleaner?

Mix 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of white vinegar. Add 1 tablespoon of dish soap to help the solution cling to vertical surfaces and improve its grease-cutting power. For tougher stains, add ½ cup of baking soda to the mixture for extra scrubbing power.

How to make concrete white again?

Pressure washing is one of the fastest, most effective ways to get your concrete white again. Concrete can change color over time due to pollen, algae, or dirt buildup, but a good pressure wash can easily remove dirt and stains and make your concrete look new again.

What does soap do to concrete?

The effect of soaps added in small amounts as integral waterproofing to cement mortar and concrete is .to diminish the absorption of water by capillary action to a marked extent arid to lessen the permeability to water under pressure.

Will Dawn dish soap get oil out of concrete?

All you need to do is pour a generous amount of dawn over the oil and use a large bristle brush to scrub the stain until you can see that it is pulling away from the ground. Rinse and repeat until the oil disappears. This might just be the cheapest solution you'll find!

Will hydrogen peroxide clean concrete?

Liquid peroxide formulas clean and brighten grout lines without harsh acids and chlorine bleaches that can damage the grout and surrounding flooring materials. The Liquid peroxide cleans, refreshes, and brightens concrete, tile, and grout without leaving watermarks or residue in contrast to other cleaning chemicals.

How do professionals remove oil stains from concrete?

For most oil stain removal, we use Prosoco Oil and Grease Remover. It's a poultice explicitly designed for decorative surfaces, and from our experience has minimal impact on the areas around the stain. Further, it will remove stains set deep into a concrete slab, reducing the chance they reappear.

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