Rust is a big concern for anyone trying to keep their outdoors sparkling clean. To remove rust from concrete, you’re going to need some equipment and the time to scrub away at it.
Rust isn’t a problem limited to metal. If you use a lot of water outdoors, you may end up with quite a bit of rust in your concrete.
It is a problem that can build up while you’re not paying too much attention to it. Left untreated, rust in your concrete can cause it to discolor.
If you want to remove rust from your concrete, your first step is to try and avoid getting rust there in the first place. Preventative work is key to keeping your concrete clean.
How to Prevent Rust in Concrete
Rust in concrete can be a big issue depending on where you live. The chemicals used to treat water vary from location to location, if your location has more iron in the water than others then you’re at a higher risk of rust forming.
If you’re in a high-risk area, these are some things you can do to prevent rust in water:
- Use Concrete Sealer- Concrete sealer helps to protect your concrete from problems like rust. Rather than having to remove rust from concrete, applying sealer is every two or three years is going to keep it in great shape.
- Avoid Metal Furniture in Certain weather – During rain or other particularly bad weather, furniture or decorations that have metal in the bottom will interact with your concrete and increase the chances of rust forming. Move or cover your metal fixings if you know you’re in for a storm.
How to Remove Rust in Concrete
Even if you take all of these steps, you might still end up needing to remove rust from concrete. These are the steps you need to do to deal with it yourself.
Get the Right Tools
To clean rust from concrete, you need to be using the correct tools. You will need:
- Chemicals – Acid magic works great to clean up rust but most concrete cleaners will give you a fighting chance.
- Pump Sprayer – This is going to make it much easier to actually clean your surface. It will cut out a lot of the manual labor.
- Stiff Brush – The right brush for use outdoors is going to be vital for cleaning rust off of your concrete.
Removing Rust from Concrete
- The first step to remove rust from concrete is to wash it with water to ensure it is clean
- Mix your cleaning chemical in the pump sprayer with water. the exact ratio will depend on what you’re using. However, most hydrchloric acid will need a 50-50 cut with water.
- Dampen the area using regular water.
- Using your pump sprayer, cover the area in the chemical solution and let it soak for 30 minutes. Top up any areas that dry out.
- Scrub the concrete with your outdoor brush after the chemical has soaked in.
- Rinse off the chemical and the removed rust, then allow it to dry.
- Repeat the process in any spots where it wasn’t totally affected.
Should You Remove Rust from Concrete Yourself
Getting rid of the rust on concrete is hard work. It is going to require some specialist equipment and chemicals.
Professional cleaning companies use the right equipment for the job. they can use this to fix rust much quicker than you can yourself.
For really serious rust problems, it may be worthwhile to bring in a professional cleaning service. with knowledge of how to sort these problems. although these instructions for doing it yourself should suffice for the smaller jobs!