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how to clean concrete walkway

SAC69

SAC69

Active Member
Donator
Every winter, approx 20' of the walkway to my front door becomes stained in green (algae?) as it's in the shade during the winter months and does not get sun. In years past, I've used a pressure washer to clean this stuff off but the washer also seems to degrade the concrete slightly. Is there something I can spray on this to clean it off w/o a huge physical effort? Bleach?

Thanks for any ideas.
 
Bleach will more than likely stop the growth, but you will still need to wash it away with something. Try using a less powerful spray. Maybe a different tip on the power washer or less psi. If the concrete is deteriorating, there could be something inherently wrong with it. It's not out of the realm of possibility to see the top 1/8 to 1/4 inch of concrete be substantially weaker than the rest of the concrete. This happens far to often, from excess water in the concrete bleeding up and then being worked back into the suface of the concrete. Now, rather than have the top of the concrete being durable, it has unfortunately become the weakest part of the concrete.
 
Not sure what the commercial cleaners here use but the do say the proper cleaner is more important than the pressure. They told me 1600 psi is more than enough with a gentle tip.
 
The pressure washer I use is a K'Archer from Costco but I don't know if it's 1200 (most likely) or 1600. I hadn't been using any cleaners other than the pressure of the water. When I say it's degrading the concrete, I just mean that it has made the surface slightly rougher that it had been, it took away some of the smooth "broom finish" so I know it removed some material, however minimal.
 
We use one of these thing-a-ma-bobs http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xr5/R-100677514/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 filled with bleach on our concrete (stamped and driveway) usually on a very humid day. The bleach usually takes care of all the mold/algae that grows. Once a year we power wash the whole thing (except for the driveway) and it stays clean all summer.

You might want to try doing this once you've got it cleaned.
http://www.concretenetwork.com/stamped-concrete/diy.html

just a thought.
 
If you use a small amount of muratic acid diluted in water, then wash off pretty quick it will clean it, you must be carefull not to leave it on long because it will eat the concrete, also don't breath the fumes, and it will be rough on the grass along the walk, muratic acid used to be used to clean concrete off of trucks, now they have less dangerous stuff, you can usually get muratic acid at a pool supply store or a hardware or farm supply store. be carefull and dilute it like a quarter cup to a couple gallons water .
 
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