There are quite a few kinds of stains that can be removed from concrete and a few ways to do that. How a stain is removed really depends on what kind of stain it is. Is it just aged and dirty? Is it oil stained? Is it a rust stain on the concrete? These are just a few types of stains, but each one is removed with a different process.

Many concrete stains and discolorations can be removed or lessened by using an acid wash. But if you try to remove an oil stain with an acid wash, you will be disappointed when it doesn't work and now the stain has been essentially "baked in" to the concrete. Oil stains need to be treated with a degreasing agent before being treated with any kind of acid wash, if an acid wash is used at all. A product like TSP (trisodium phosphate), which breaks down the oil and helps release it from the concrete, could be used for the initial degreasing process.

Acid washing is a very common way to clean a lot of concrete stains. It is very effective for concrete stain removal and fairly easy to do. However, caution must be used when working with acid in any capacity. Be sure to always use proper P.P.E. when handling acid. Always rinse down and neutralize the discharge, but you must also neutralize the concrete itself. This can be done with a TSP wash and clean rinsing water.

There are a few other ways to clean concrete stains as well. For example, a rust stain can be treated with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) applied to it. Varsol is an aggressive degreasing agent.

When removing concrete stains, spot treatments could leave exactly that. Spots that are now differently colored than the rest of the concrete. Try to treat the whole area of concrete instead of just the stain so all of the concrete look uniform and not splotched and discolored.

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