clean stained sidewalk?


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Old 07-22-21, 09:36 AM
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clean stained sidewalk?

Somebody drag a leaking bag of garbage down the sidewalk and it left this stain on the concrete. Not sure what substance leaked, perhaps fish blood mixed with other substances/fluid but not sure. I tried pressure washing it off with a strong pressure washer but it couldn't clean it off. Any suggestions appreciated. I know there are concrete cleaner products, never tried any though.

 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:02 AM
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You might try sprinkling some Oxy Clean powder on it, wet it, scrub it, keep it wet for 10-15 minutes and then power wash it. Course then you will have a clean spot... and have to do the entire sidewalk! LOL
 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:09 AM
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I already tried pouring a little hydrogen peroxide on some of it, scrubbing it in good with a brush, then rinsing with the power washer. Didnt do anything. Somebody said hydrogen peroxide helps clean blood stains that's why I tried that. So Oxi-Clean "might" work? If so, I'll go buy some and try unless it's just a wild guess.

 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:20 AM
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Yeah, you could call it a "wild guess" since I have no idea what the stain is or what might work to remove it. It would be similar to peroxide since that's what oxiclean forms but you would think the paste would be stronger. Just thought you might already have some in the laundry.

Muriatic acid is diluted in water to scrub and dissolve mortar but it's not guaranteed to remove unknown organic stains either.
 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:30 AM
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Ok I'll give the oxi-clean powder a try, per that suggestion. If no luck with that I do have some muriatic acid on hand to try. How much should I dilute it ya think?
 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:36 AM
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Muriatic acid should usually never be mixed any stronger than 4 parts water to 1 part acid, and is often mixed as a 10% solution.... 10 parts water to 1 parts acid. If you already have it you might as well try it on a small spot and see if it works. If the acid doesn't touch it I doubt the oxiclean would do a thing.

It will ruin the brush you use and you should wear rubber gloves and goggles.
 
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Old 07-22-21, 10:45 AM
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Thanks XSleeper for the suggestions/info. Will try, and post back with hopefully a success story. Will use rubber gloves and googles too, thanks.
 
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Old 07-22-21, 11:59 AM
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Skip the chemicals, a power washer with plate/surface cleaner will make it look like new!

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Outdoors...-5yc1vZ2fkooyv
 
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Old 07-22-21, 12:07 PM
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a power washer with plate/surface cleaner will make it look like new!
Wow I've never even heard of those, I'll check the hardware store or wherever here locally (we dont have Home Depot here) to see if they have one that could work with my pressure washer.
 
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Old 07-22-21, 12:37 PM
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Coming home after Thanksgiving last-year, while unloading the 'please-take-some-home' containers, a quart of gravy did a backflip and SPLAT on our asphalt driveway- leaving a big stain.
It has only within the last 2 weeks finally faded away.

What I'd suggest is to use some dishwasher detergent, suds it up into a foam, and then apply if once or twice, then wash off.

Something I noticed while cleaning my wife-to-be's apartment kitchen - if you get the soap-to-water ratio JUST RIGHT, (1 part soap to 4 parts water) basic dish soap will clean almost anything (e.g. baked on crud in an oven). The trick that I found was to use a French press coffee maker to make a tiny bubbles to create a thick foam that's almost like shaving cream; slather it on what you want to clean, and it (mostly) sticks to vertical surfaces or even upside down.

 
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Old 07-22-21, 12:48 PM
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Here is a video to show how it works!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwnwSiIOre0
 
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