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Best Method/s for cleaning Concrete Kerbs

  • 29-08-2011 9:54am
    #1
    Lanshane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭


    Hi all,

    Just looking for any advice on what the best way to tackle cleaning concrete kerbs that over the last 7 years have become discoloured/dirty looking around my home. I do understand that I will have to put in a bit of scrubbing on me knees :mad: but just wondering if there is anything I could treat the kerbs with first to help before I scrub or maybe powerwash?

    If anyone has done this or knows of anyone who has with good results I would really appreciate advice/feedback.

    Thanks all.


Comments

  • #2
    galwaytt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,822 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    No need to scrub: go to your local farmer's Co-Op, and buy a 25L drum of Hypoclorite (bleach), which the farmer's use for their dairy's etc.

    With a strong mix, in a watering can, 'water' your kerbs, footpath's and paver's and voila! - lovely bright clean. And no effort. No need to rinse off, or anything.

    You might have to do it once, maybe twice, a year, depending on your conditions etc.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • #3
    Lanshane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭Lanshane


    galwaytt wrote: »
    No need to scrub: go to your local farmer's Co-Op, and buy a 25L drum of Hypoclorite (bleach), which the farmer's use for their dairy's etc.

    With a strong mix, in a watering can, 'water' your kerbs, footpath's and paver's and voila! - lovely bright clean. And no effort. No need to rinse off, or anything.

    You might have to do it once, maybe twice, a year, depending on your conditions etc.

    Really that easy? Great!! I should also have mentioned that there is tarmac incolved, would the odd splash of Hypoclorite damage the tarmac? If not, might it kill some moss I have in spots of the tarmac in sheltered areas also? Could I spray it on with a knapsack as it might be easier and more effciient to apply? Woud you dilute it with water or apply it straight? I am in Galway city, any idea where I might get it and roughly what price? Thanks a million, my knees and back feel better already!:D


  • #4
    galwaytt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,822 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    Lanshane wrote: »
    Really that easy? Great!! I should also have mentioned that there is tarmac incolved, would the odd splash of Hypoclorite damage the tarmac? If not, might it kill some moss I have in spots of the tarmac in sheltered areas also? Could I spray it on with a knapsack as it might be easier and more effciient to apply? Woud you dilute it with water or apply it straight? I am in Galway city, any idea where I might get it and roughly what price? Thanks a million, my knees and back feel better already!:D

    Try McDonagh's in Ballybane - builder's & farmer provision's.

    Hypochlorite has no effect on tarmac in all the years I've used it.

    Knapsack will work, but it's best to put it on very strong, so a simple water can with fine nozzle will work - you're trying to drench the path, not moisten it........

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • #5
    Lanshane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭Lanshane


    galwaytt wrote: »
    Try McDonagh's in Ballybane - builder's & farmer provision's.

    Hypochlorite has no effect on tarmac in all the years I've used it.

    Knapsack will work, but it's best to put it on very strong, so a simple water can with fine nozzle will work - you're trying to drench the path, not moisten it........

    Thanks a million, will give it a shot.

    By the way could I used it on ridge tiles on the roof of my home as there appears to be a fair bit of moss developing there?


  • #6
    galwaytt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,822 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    Lanshane wrote: »
    Thanks a million, will give it a shot.

    By the way could I used it on ridge tiles on the roof of my home as there appears to be a fair bit of moss developing there?

    mmmm, dunno. It won't do any harm - but no sure if it'll actually remove anything.

    I had to go up there this year myself, and I found that is was actually lichen's, and that they were very hard - they weren't just all soft waiting to fall off...........it's too easy to do more damage than not up there, so I only removed what came easily - I don't fancy having to re-set, or re-point anything on my roof...........

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



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  • #7
    Poor Uncle Tom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,547 ✭✭✭✭Poor Uncle Tom


    galwaytt wrote: »
    mmmm, dunno. It won't do any harm - but no sure if it'll actually remove anything.
    Putting Bleach on your roof won't do any harm?
    galwaytt wrote: »
    I had to go up there this year myself, and I found that is was actually lichen's, and that they were very hard - they weren't just all soft waiting to fall off...........it's too easy to do more damage than not up there, so I only removed what came easily - I don't fancy having to re-set, or re-point anything on my roof...........
    Uses of Copper Sulphate

    Copper sulphate, blue stone, blue vitriol are all common names for
    pentahydrated cupric sulphate, CuSO45H2O, which is the best known
    and the most widely used of the copper salts. Indeed it is often the
    starting raw material for the production of many of the other copper salts.

    Today in the world there are more than 100 manufacturers and the world's
    consumption is around 200,000 tonnes per annum. It is estimated that
    approximately three-quarters of this is used in agriculture, principally as a
    fungicide, but also for treating copper-deficient soils.

    Putting a strip of copper wire along the ridge was always the old way of
    getting rid of unwanted mosses.


  • #8
    galwaytt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,822 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    Poor Uncle Tom wrote: »
    Putting Bleach on your roof won't do any harm?

    Didn't affect mine - that's the problem - it didn't affect / remove the lichen's, either. Like they say on the pack - if you're not sure, then test on a spare tile/etc, first.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



  • #9
    Poor Uncle Tom
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,547 ✭✭✭✭Poor Uncle Tom


    galwaytt wrote: »
    Didn't affect mine - that's the problem - it didn't affect / remove the lichen's, either. Like they say on the pack - if you're not sure, then test on a spare tile/etc, first.
    Since it is a bleach and most roof tiles and slates have colouring added, I would be very hesitant in advising anyone to try it on large roof surfaces.


  • #10
    Lanshane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭Lanshane


    galwaytt wrote: »
    Try McDonagh's in Ballybane - builder's & farmer provision's.

    Hypochlorite has no effect on tarmac in all the years I've used it.

    Knapsack will work, but it's best to put it on very strong, so a simple water can with fine nozzle will work - you're trying to drench the path, not moisten it........

    Well I managed to get 5 Ltrs to start with first in Flynns of Lackagh (McDonaghs won't answer phone!!). I used the knapsack (undiluted) and 'drenched' some areas of kerbing and a small section of a path. Well, as you suggested there was noticeable difference so very happy with the results. The only proplem is the cost of the stuff, I would need about 25 Ltrs of the stuff. I paid €15 for 5 Ltrs so €60 is a bit steep:eek:. I was wondering could I dilute Jeyes Fluid/domestos or some other form of bleach and use that instead. As the sodium hypochlorite is a form of bleach, is it not the same stuff or is there something special about this stuff? If this is what I need to pay then I will. I'm just wondering if there is a more cost effective way of doing the job? By the way, I will be just breaking off any loose moss on the roof with a brush and applying Mossgo for the red/green lichen, that should do that hopefully! Thanks again.


  • #11
    Lanshane
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 261 ✭✭Lanshane


    galwaytt wrote: »
    No need to scrub: go to your local farmer's Co-Op, and buy a 25L drum of Hypoclorite (bleach), which the farmer's use for their dairy's etc.

    With a strong mix, in a watering can, 'water' your kerbs, footpath's and paver's and voila! - lovely bright clean. And no effort. No need to rinse off, or anything.

    You might have to do it once, maybe twice, a year, depending on your conditions etc.

    Galwaytt, regarding the strong mix, just wondering what ratio of Hypochlorite to water did you use to obtain your best results? Tks.


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  • #12
    galwaytt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,822 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    Lanshane wrote: »
    Galwaytt, regarding the strong mix, just wondering what ratio of Hypochlorite to water did you use to obtain your best results? Tks.

    Damn near 1:1 tbh.

    As for cost, nothing to be lost by trying: not being a chemist, I'm not sure what the difference is in potency between the 2.

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



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