Author: Stoneworld

What is the best way to clean cement stains from natural stone?

We are writing this blog to try and help you avoid what happened to a lady who contacted us recently.

Mrs B had unfortunately had her Kandla Grey Sandstone patio damaged by her contractors, who were woefully uninformed about the right way to install and care for natural stone.

In their attempt to remove spilled cement (2) they have caused rust staining (1) by using the wrong product for the job

Luckily, Stoneworld have been able to help her rectify the situation. We understand stone and how to care for it.  We urge all our customers to take our advice which we are more than happy to give about any aspect of stone care and maintenance.

Natural stone surfaces are versatile hardwearing and beautiful products to use, and investing in them will add ambience and value to your home.

Generally, they are very easy to care for but there are a few things that you need to think about when choosing cleaning products to use on them.

Please take note of this very important message:

NEVER USE BRICK ACID ON NATURAL STONE SURFACES. 

Why is brick acid the wrong product to use on natural stone?

It is too harsh, extremely corrosive, and on certain stones will cause chemical reactions that will result in severe rust staining to the surface, spoiling the appearance of your stone patio or floor.

The high content of hydrochloric acid in brick acid is simply too harsh and corrosive to use on stones like sandstone, limestone, granite and slate.

Not only will it destroy the surface by eating into it, it will draw iron deposits from within the stone if they are present.  Some stones are more susceptible to iron staining than others, but in this example you can see that the use of brick acid on Kandla Grey Sandstone has created a really strong reaction bringing iron to the surface and leaving a strong yellow stain on the staone.

Back to our case study:

Mrs B now needed a product to remove the rust staining that has occurred after the wrongful use of brick acid.

Plus, she still needed an effective cement remover for the remaining cement spillage on her patio.

What is the right product to use on natural stone to remove rust stains?

To remove the rust stains we recommend Rob Parkers Best Rust Remover. This product will remove the orange brown deposits that come to the surface of some stones.

Besides this unfortunate incident where brick acid has drawn rust deposits from within the stone, rust can leach out from some stones naturally.

The use of certain lawn feeds and weed killers also contain ferrous sulphates which can cause rust leaching from natural stone too.  We recommend swilling away any spillages of feed/weed treatments promptly to avoid staining.

Read a previous blog where we have successfully treated some old paving of ours with Rob Parkers Rust Remover>> which has brought it back to as new condition

Buy Rob Parkers Best Rust Remover now>>

What is the right product to use on natural stone to remove cement spills?

For the removal of cement spillage on natural stone Stoneworld recommend the use of

 Rob Parkers Best ConClear. 

It has been formulated using a much gentler ingredient, glycolic acid.  Whilst our product is manmade, it mimics the glycolic acid that occurs in nature and can also be derived from cane sugar.  This substance has low corosivity, and is biodegradable, making it gentler on your stone and is kinder to the environment.

Rob Parkers Best Conclear is highly effective and environmentally kind.  It is ideal for use on natural stone surfaces, and will also work on many other substrates,

Buy Rob Parkers Conclear now>>

We are happy to report that our advice to Mrs B has restored her Kandla Grey Sandstone Patio to its former glory.