Cleaning A Concrete Floor With Muriatic Acid

Using acid is dangerous.

Cleaning a concrete floor with muriatic acid.

Muriatic acid can work wonders on filthy concrete and it can also be very useful in cleaning excess smears of dried mortar and grout or when attempting to alleviate tough rust stains. If you re just removing mineral deposits efflorescence use a much weaker mix 10 1 or 16 1 for muriatic acid. These solutions are for etching the concrete. Muriatic acid is the strongest acid available to the public.

The paint will not stick efficiently to the concrete unless you roughen it up a bit first with the acid. Hydrochloric acid also known as strong water or muriatic acid is a chemical normally used for cleaning hard surfaces and surfaces which are hard to clean such as brick concrete and others this is a highly corrosive product should be used with extreme caution otherwise it may damage your skin or the objects of your home. If you plan on painting your basement s concrete floor you need to prep it first with muriatic acid. Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water.

With proper use it removes stains when other cleaners fail. You roughen such a floor by etching it with muriatic acid. Muriatic acid is a strong acid cleaner used on masonry surfaces to clean stains. It is excellent for cleaning away rust stains and efflorescence but must be used with extreme caution.

Prepping a concrete floor with muriatic acid. Muriatic acid should never be used indoors and has to be thoroughly neutralized before disposal. It also reduces the surface alkalinity of the concrete that can cause some paints to adhere poorly. Muriatic acid creates and acidic vapor that can suffocate you quickly.

Cleaning concrete bricks and pavers with an acid most often referred to as acid etching or acid washing is a very bad idea and no longer recommended by many coatings manufacturers. For many years it was a standard method of concrete preparation used by nearly all industrial commercial and institutional floor coating installers depending on the floor size and system to be installed. A smooth concrete floor must be roughened before paint will stick to it. Always wear a carbon activated mask.

Mix 3 to 4 parts water with 1 part acid or follow label instructions for a 10 concentration 15 for hard smooth concrete.