Use a mild grease-cutting detergent such as Dawn or Ajax dishwashing liquid mixed with water and a natural or synthetic bristle scrub brush to help brighten the patio surface. NOTE: Never use a wire brush as it can leave rust stains and scratch the concrete surface.
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.
Interior Concrete Floors:
Clean with water. Use a mild detergent as needed. Such as Dove or Ivory dish soap. Do Not use Dawn, Simple Green, Ammonia or harsh cleaners as they will work to damage and even strip the wax.
Keep fertilizers away from concrete
Fertilizers often contain ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate which are harmful chemicals that can disintegrate concrete. Avoid using these on our near your concrete during its first year.
Mix a solution of 1/8 of a cup liquid dishwashing detergent, ½ cup baking soda, and one gallon of water. Use a soft brush to scrub the mixture into the stain. Rinse, or use sawdust to absorb the soapy water. Sweep the sawdust away.
Will Vinegar Damage Concrete? Cleaning concrete with vinegar will not damage it! However, saturating concrete for an extended period will damage the cement that binds concrete together. Over time, vinegar erodes the concrete itself, so be careful.
Driveways and Sidewalks
If you don't have access to a pressure washer, you can use Super Clean, a hose and a garage broom to get similar results. Spray the area down with cold water, spray on some Super Clean and let it sit a few minutes. Work it into the concrete with the garage broom, and rinse with the hose.
If your area is more prone to algae and mold, then you may want to wash your concrete more often. You should pressure wash your concrete at least once a year to protect your concrete and the value of your home. Using a concrete sealer can also prevent damage to your concrete after it has been washed.
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.
Choose a highly concentrated, oil busting dish soap, such as Dawn. Squirt it over the stain and spread it around to cover the entire affected area. Let it sit for about an hour, then mop up the dish soap and oil with a paper towel.
But did you know that the power of Dawn® can also be used as a pretreatment for laundry stains, including oil, ink, grass, and practically anything else in between? You can trust Dawn® to clean your greasiest, dirtiest dishes—which is the same reason it works so well to pretreat dirty or grease-stained clothes.
Stains happen to the best of us. But with Dawn® Platinum, it's So Dawn Easy to pretreat most stains—like tomato sauce, blueberries, and grease—giving your clothes a fighting chance. 1. Apply Dawn® Platinum directly to any cotton/polycotton fabric, * covering the entire stained area, and rub it in using your fingers.
Best for Driveways: Zep Driveway and Concrete Cleaner
Zep Driveway and Concrete cleaner is suitable for removing concrete stains, dirt, and oil marks. It's a budget-friendly choice coming in a four-pack of 1-gallon jugs. To use Zep Driveway and Concrete cleaner, mix the solution per the package directions.
Concrete Acid Stains are the only true stains with permanent results.
The Coca-Cola Technique
Simply mop up excess oil and pour a few cans of soda on the stain, then wait a day and rinse. The properties present in the soda should gobble up the oil and leave the concrete clean.
Whether your patio is sealed concrete or cement, or even sealed concrete pavers, a bleach and water solution makes it easy to clean away built up soil, stains from leaves and pollen, mold, mildew and algae.
If you need to get rid of rust from concrete, your best bet is to use some WD-40 Multi-Use Product, and some elbow grease. WD-40 is specially formulated to be a penetrant, so when you spray it on a rusted surface, it gets to work right away by getting under the rust.
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.
What are the most common causes of concrete deterioration? Chemical attack, overloading and impact, carbonation, dry and wet cycling, and fire are major causes of concrete damages.
The inorganic compounds which are useful as concrete dissolvers generally include inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, phosphoric, hypochlorous and carbonic acid. Salts of these acids and alkalies such as sodium-hydroxide, sodium bicarbonate and ammoniumsulfate are also eifective.
The science behind salt damage to concrete
The calcium hydroxide present in concrete reacts with the calcium chloride in salt, creating calcium oxychloride (CAOXY) in salt, thus wreaking havoc. When forming inside concrete, CAOXY crystals expand, causing internal cracks and crumbling.