Download Article

Download Article

Keeping the concrete around your dwelling house looking fresh is no small task, and information technology can be made even harder if someone stomps out a cigarette on it. The ash from a cigarette tin can get rubbed deep into the porous surface of concrete, and it can be tough to scrub out with your bare hands. All the same, with a little elbow grease and a complimentary afternoon, yous can clean up your physical and make information technology expect clean over again.

  1. 1

    Spray downwards the concrete with a water hose. If the ash is withal loose and sitting on top of the concrete, yous may exist able to wet it downwardly and spray it away. Turn your hose onto a strong nozzle setting, like shower or jet, then point the spray of water directly at the ash.[ane]

    • Try to spray the ash abroad from the rest of the concrete onto the grass.

  2. 2

    Mix a 1:one ratio of washing soda and water. If the cigarette ash is all the same there, mix up some washing soda and warm h2o in a bucket at a 1:1 ratio. You can discover washing soda at nigh grocery stores in the cleaning aisle. Brand sure y'all don't accidentally buy baking soda, every bit they're very similar![2]

    • For instance, yous could combine i cup (201 thou) of washing soda and 1 cup (240 mL) of water.
    • If you don't have washing soda, pour blistering soda onto a baking tray and put it in the oven at 300 °F (149 °C) to 30 minutes to ane hour to create washing soda.

    Advertisement

  3. three

    Dip a soft-bristled brush into the mixture, then scrub the stains. Pick out a brush that has soft beard that won't scratch your concrete. Dip the brush into the washing soda and water, then scrub the cigarette ash to remove information technology from the concrete.[iii]

    • Nylon brushes work well for cleaning concrete.

  4. 4

    Rinse the physical off with water. Apply your hose once again to spray off the expanse where yous simply scrubbed. If the stain is still there, yous can try using your washing soda and h2o mixture again to scrub it off.[iv]

    • If the stain is yet at that place after multiple scrubbings, you may demand to try something harsher.

    Advertisement

  1. i

    Put on gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. To mix upward this physical stain remover, you'll have to mix together some pretty strong chemicals. Make certain you're wearing gloves and piece of work outside or in a room with the doors and windows open up.[five]

    • If you take a respirator and eye protection, y'all can put those on as well.

  2. two

    Dissolve two lbs (vii.half dozen 50) of trisodium phosphate into one Us gal (3.eight 50) of hot water. In a large bucket, mix together trisodium phosphate and hot water to dilute the chemical and make it safe to use. Use a wooden stirrer to combine the ingredients in your bucket.[6]

    • You can discover trisodium phosphate at well-nigh hardware stores. It may exist labeled as TSP.
    • Using this much trisodium phosphate will make enough cleaning paste to cover a large slab of concrete.

  3. 3

    Mix 12 oz (0.34 kg) of chlorinated lime with h2o to make a paste. In a separate container, pour out your chlorinated lime crystals and slowly add hot water, about 1  c (240 mL) at a time. Use a wooden stirrer to combine the h2o and the crystals until they form a thick paste.[7]

    • You tin can find chlorinated lime pulverisation, or bleaching pulverisation, at most hardware stores.

  4. four

    Pour the paste into the trisodium phosphate mixture. Carefully pick upward the chlorinated lime paste mixture and scrape it out into the trisodium phosphate bucket. Use your wooden stirrer to stir the mixture gently and combine the chemicals.[8]

  5. five

    Add together enough hot water to make ii gallons (vii.half-dozen 50). Take note of how much liquid is in your saucepan, then fill up it up with hot water until it reaches the 2 US gal (7.half dozen L) line. Information technology'southward important to dilute the mixture really well to keep your concrete from getting bleached, so make sure you add together enough water.[9]

    • Some hardware buckets accept measurement lines on the within and so you tin see where your liquid level is.

  6. six

    Cover the mixture and let the lime paste settle. Put a board or a lid over the bucket, but don't seal it closed. Exit the mixture for near 15 minutes to permit the lime paste settle to the bottom. You'll know when it's ready when the liquid part at the pinnacle doesn't look cloudy anymore.[10]

    • Roofing the saucepan is mainly to go on it from spilling or getting contaminated with anything else while it sits.

  7. 7

    Cascade the liquid into a split container. Pick your saucepan up and carefully pour off the liquid at the meridian of the mixture. You won't demand the liquid office of this mixture anymore, so you lot can ready it off to the side.[xi]

    • You lot can dispose of the liquid by either flushing it down the toilet or pouring it down the bleed and flushing information technology with enough of cool water.[12]

  8. 8

    Spread the paste onto the stain with a towel. Making certain your gloves are even so on, carefully pick upwardly some of the paste from the lesser of the bucket with an onetime towel. Spread a thick layer of the paste over the cigarette ash stain to completely cover it.[13]

    • The paste works by absorbing the stain and so evaporating, leaving the concrete clean.

  9. ix

    Scrub the paste off when it'due south dry. After about 1 hour, you'll discover that the paste has dried and formed a hardened crust. Take a dry soft-bristled brush or a sponge and gently scrape the paste off to reveal your cleaned concrete.[14]

    • If the stain isn't gone notwithstanding, you can repeat the awarding of the paste as many times every bit you demand to.

    Advertisement

  1. 1

    Spray the concrete down with water often. Concrete does go muddied pretty fast, especially if it'southward outside. To prevent stains, spray it down with your hose about in one case a week, or whenever y'all detect a new surface area is getting dingy.[15]

    • For a deep make clean, consider renting a force per unit area washer from the hardware shop and spraying down your concrete to remove layers of grime and clay.

  2. ii

    Use a concrete sealer. If your concrete is unfinished, information technology is more probable to blot liquids and cause stains. Find a clear silane-based concrete sealer from the hardware store and paint it onto your clean concrete with a paint brush or roller, then permit it dry for about 1 day.[16]

    • Try non to let the sealer puddle on the concrete, or information technology could make the surface uneven.
    • Brand sure you lot but apply a thin layer to avoid changing the color or appearance of your concrete.

  3. iii

    Use a masonry primer and topcoat for indoor concrete. Make sure your concrete is clean, and so apply a sparse layer of masonry primer to the entire expanse with a paint roller. Permit this to dry for about 1 day, and then add a masonry topcoat and let it dry for 1 day also.[17]

    • Masonry finishing is best for preventing mold and mildew accumulation, then information technology's swell for humid environments.

    Advertisement

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Advertisement

  • The sooner y'all clean the cigarette ash, the easier it will exist to remove.

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Ad

  • Always wear gloves and work in a ventilated area when mixing chemicals.

Advertisement

Things You'll Need

  • Hose
  • Washing soda
  • Soft-bristled castor
  • Gloves
  • Bucket
  • Trisodium phosphate
  • Chlorinated lime
  • Wooden stirrer
  • Towel
  • Hose
  • Physical sealer
  • Masonry topcoat
  • Masonry cease
  • Pigment roller

References

About This Article

Thank you to all authors for creating a page that has been read 9,187 times.

Did this commodity help y'all?