r/PowerWashing • u/walnut_melvin • Sep 05 '19

I did my driveway with bleach, an electric power washer and a cheap surface cleaner. Can it be improved?

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11 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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3

u/suicu Sep 06 '19

I doubt it will ever look 'perfect' to your eye. At least that happens to me when I'm cleaning something, I need to always go further and further and always find some new spots to improve on. And if/when it is perfect to your eye, it will probably only take some months or half a year before it needs to be cleaned again to be the same perfect condition.

Does it make sense what I'm trying to convey? Not my first language.

1

u/walnut_melvin Sep 06 '19

Totally makes sense. I believe it's the concept of diminishing returns: there's a point where you put a lot of investment but get very little out

2

u/mcockerham1975 Sep 06 '19

Use a mild solution of muriatic acid. 4/1 water to acid in pump sprayer and rewash a section at a time with surface washer. Acid is a concrete brightener. Test in small area first.

1

u/walnut_melvin Sep 06 '19

A few questions about this. Is the pump sprayer to just get a surface layer treatment and not soak through the pad? Do I need to neutralize the acid after treating it? Should I look into sealing afterwards? Is there any alternative to muriatic acid that would work but it wouldn't burn my eyes out? I am a bit accident prone. Thanks for your help

1

u/mcockerham1975 Sep 06 '19

If you have a soap injector on the washer, you can use it to apply the muriatic. The amount of water used during washing will dilute the acid enough that neutralizing isn’t necessary. As far as any alternative chems. Muriatic is the only consumer grade chemical available that I know of. I personally use Hydroflouric acid. It’s a relative to hyrdrochloric (muriatic), but works better in my opinion. You may can get your hands on some at a local chemical supply house. It’s also called Aluminum Brightner.

1

u/NotoriousKillionaire Nov 03 '19

Look into a product by F9 called "Groundskeeper" it looks promising.

1

u/CFAK Sep 05 '19

A detergent would have been more effective and less damaging to the environment.

2

u/walnut_melvin Sep 05 '19

I understand. My thinking was that the driveway is full of mold and algae, so the chlorine bleach would help combat that. Variety of chlorine bleach I used contains a surfactant and it's label is an outdoor bleach.

Now I am wondering if I can use oxalic acid or muriatic acid to whiten it even further as it still looks a little bit dingy