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.
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.
In fact, vinegar removes mold from concrete better than bleach. Bleach will only remove the top layer of mold, causing the mold to return.
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.
Restaining works best if you need to go darker or fill in light spots, but does not work very well when you're trying to lighten the overall color. If the desire is to lighten the color, the best results I have seen come from pulling some of the initial stain out of the concrete.
But that's not all; chlorine bleach can also be used for cleaning the concrete driveway. Of course, you should dilute it with equal parts of water or a 1:1 ratio. With the mixture ready, spray it on the driveway, allowing it to sit for 10 minutes. Then, use a stiff brush before rinsing with clean water.
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.
OxiClean Outdoor Multipurpose Ready to Use - Cleaning Supplies - Cleaning Products - Cleaner for Concrete, Vinyl, Grill, Patio Furniture - Degreaser for Cement and Brick (1 Gallon)
A small amount of acid added to the water will pull the stain out of the concrete without etching the concrete surface. In essence, the acidic solution reverses the reaction, allowing you to pull the color back out of the concrete.
Although bleach is great at the whitening effect, you can use peroxide to achieve this. Hydrogen peroxide is an oxygenated bleach. It is safe for plants, so when you rinse this solution, it won't harm anything. It works together with the dish soap and baking soda to remove dirt and whiten dirty concrete.
Bleach is commonly used to whiten concrete and is very effective at doing so if the initial stain is removed beforehand. Bleaching stained concrete white prepares it for any additional coloring treatments that you may wish to apply in the future.
A quick answer is yes! White vinegar can clean concrete and remove stains. It may not be as powerful as concrete cleaners, but it can clean up concrete stains on a budget. Not to mention that vinegar can also remove germs and bacteria from concrete.
Add 2 ⅔ cups Clorox® Outdoor Bleach to the pump sprayer and then add 13 ⅓ cups water to make 1 gallon of bleach solution. Wear gloves, safety glasses and clothing that you don't mind accidentally splashing with bleach solution.
Although the concrete is disinfected after just 5 minutes, lightening it will take a little longer. Leave the bleach solution on the concrete for about 20 minutes, then sweep briskly with the stiff broom to dislodge the softened grime. Use the scrub brush to tackle stubborn areas. Rinse off the patio.
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.
The Liquid peroxide cleans, refreshes, and brightens concrete, tile, and grout without leaving watermarks or residue in contrast to other cleaning chemicals.
Hydrogen peroxide is another concrete cleaning item that is easily available at pharmacies, grocery stores, and home improvement stores. For a natural, stronger solution to tackle stubborn stains on concrete surfaces, mix flour and hydrogen peroxide into a paste the consistency of peanut butter.
As a gentler cleaner, bleach can't harm concrete's durable material. Aside from being an effective cleaner and stain remover, it also acts as a disinfectant to the concrete surface.
Simple Green Oxy Solve Concrete and Driveway Cleaner can be used with a power washer or for manual cleaning of concrete surfaces including driveways, sidewalks, patios, and walkways.
Pour ⅓ cup of Clorox® Disinfecting Bleach into 1 gallon of water in a plastic bucket or container. Apply bleach solution using a brush or broom on horizontal surfaces, and a sponge or mop on vertical surfaces. Heavily soiled surfaces may require additional scrubbing. Wait 6 minutes for disinfecting.
Our top pick for an alkaline concrete cleaner, Sunnyside 64216 TSP All Purpose Cleaner, is recommended for indoor surfaces and works quickly to remove tough stains. Acid concrete cleaners are made with phosphoric acid or hydrochloric acid, which cause a chemical reaction that lifts stains.
Mixing vinegar and bleach together releases a poisonous chlorine gas, which can be fatal if inhaled at high enough concentrations.