CONCRETE CLEANING - DO'S AND DON'TS
By Quincy Yu
The last few days have been gorgeous! I was talking to friends in Missouri, New York and Pennsylvania, and everyone was
saying how nice it is to get outside and were soooooo looking forward to Spring. It’s been a tough winter (weather wise)
and everyone is tired of being cooped up in the house… especially those with pets.
When it rains, Simon really has to be coaxed to go out for his walk or to the park. I can’t imagine what he would do if
there was 6 inches of snow outside and the ground was freezing. Knowing Simon, he would just sit there, give me a look like
“Are you crazy?”, and just refuse to budge. Now, since I am a real softy when it comes to him, I wonder what I would do.
The reason this struck me today is that I have noticed that our customers are now ordering our (new) concrete products.
I wondered why, when it suddenly struck me that winter was over and that the weather was warming up. Could it be that during
the winter, when no human or animal in their right mind would willingly venture out into the cold, rainy and/or snowy
outdoors, that pets had used the basement or patio areas instead of going outside? And now that things were warming up,
the odors that were dormant in cold were now “smelling” with the weather getting warm?
If this is the case, Simon and I thought it was time to talk about cleaning up concrete so Simon’s pals don’t get in
trouble. Once they have marked (on the concrete), Simon’s pals will go back and mark the same spot over and over again.
So here goes.
Concrete Cleaning - Do's and Don'ts
Things To Know
1. Concrete is porous. Yes, this very hard material is porous with lots of air bubbles for urine to hide and dry up in.
If your concrete has not been sealed (or the seal has come off), liquids will definitely penetrate the surface and
dry in the concrete.
2. When it was cold, smells are usually pretty dormant. When it warms up, the smell appears and gets more intense the
warmer it gets. It is not that the problem wasn’t there (in the cold), it just that biodegradation is really slow
in cold, and revs up in hot environments.
3. The more humid the environment, the more the urine will penetrate
Cleaning Don'ts
1. Do not paint over or seal concrete before you get rid of the deposited urine. Painting or sealing the concrete
will not prevent the urine from biodegrading and throwing off the urine odor. You are just going to have to strip the
seal off and get to the urine once you find it has not worked.
Cleaning Do's
1. Get rid of any excess liquids and/or other materials from the concrete before treating.
2. Make sure that the area is aerated when you are cleaning the concrete. Why? See my blog on Why Urine Smells Like Ammonia.
3. Use Clean+Green Concrete and Grout or other concrete cleaning products
4. Apply the cleaning agent to an area larger than the stain on top of the concrete. Why? Because pet urine tends to spread as it soaks into the concrete 2″ to 3″ wider than on the surface. Caution: When you apply the cleaning agent, the smell will be very intense initially. Why? When urine dries, it crystallizes. When you apply the cleaning agent, the urine crystals liquefy and the smell gets intense before it is eliminated.
5. You don’t have to, but I would recommend getting something like push broom and use this after applying the cleaning agent. Why? To get as much of the product deep into the concrete as possible. Remember, no cleaning agent can work unless it can come in physical contact with the urine.
6. When treating the concrete, be patient and thorough. If there is a lot of urine, it can be down deep into the concrete. Remember, the cleaning agent can only get rid of what it can touch. As the urine closest to the surface is reached and eliminated, the next layer will be drawn up to the surface. You will need apply the cleaning solution again, and again until all of the urine is gone.
7. Once you are sure that all the urine is gone, I would recommend that you seal the concrete.
Good luck!
Quincy and Simon
Qunicy Yu is co-founder of SeaYu, the makers of Clean+Green cleaning and deodorizing products. Her blog that contains
many helpful cleaning tips can be found on the company’s website: http://www.odorandstainremover.com/store/homepage.php
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