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Monday, 28 June 2010 00:00 |
| Berries and other soft fruit can stain paving when they fall from the parent bush, shrub or tree, and the visual distress can be increased when they first pass through a bird before being deposited on a pavement. When allowed to dry, the resulting stain can prove difficult to remove. To address this we recommend obtaining a quantity of Sodium Hypochlorite (NaClO) at 13-15% concentration. This is NOT the same as household bleach, although household bleach can be used if getting hold of the chemical proves difficult. One fairly reliable source of sodium hypochlorite is swimming pool maintenance suppliers - it's the stuff they use to chlorinate the pool water. Alternatively, janitorial suppliers may have stock. The chemical must be in liquid form: granular Sodium Hypochlorite is sometimes used to treat swimming pools, but this form is not suitable for cleaning tasks. The concentration/strength of the product is critical; lower concentrations are usually cheaper per liter, but will often require more treatments to shift any staining, and so can be a false economy. |
| The other ingredient is a mild, non-oxidizing shampoo such as Johnsons Baby Shampoo. The purpose of the shampoo is to act as a surfactant, but it must be a non-oxidizing otherwise it may compromise the action of the sodium hypochlorite. We suggest a Baby Shampoo, as these are usually the mildest and safest of all. It's worth pointing out that many supermarket brand baby shampoos are just as good, in this context, as more expensive named brands. |
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Sodium hypochlorite is dangerous: it is corrosive and an irritant; it will burn skin; even minor splashes can damage eyesight, and so it is essential that full protective gloves and goggles are worn at all times when cleaning using this product. The liquid will also burn or kill plants and vegetation, so care must be taken when using in and around gardens. |
| To make 5 liters of cleaning fluid, sufficient to clean approximately 10-15m² of paving:
Pour 1.5 liters (1,500 ml) of sodium hypochlorite into a large plastic bucket. Add 4.5 liters (4,500 ml) of clean cold water. This makes a 3:1 solution which should be adequate for most cleaning tasks. Next, add 100 ml of the baby shampoo and gently disperse through the liquid by stirring.
Carefully transfer the cleaning fluid to the bottle of a pump sprayer. If no sprayer is available, the cleaning fluid can be used directly from the bucket.
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| It is important that the entire pavement is treated; this fluid may cause slight beaching or lightening of some surfaces, and therefore spot cleaning could result in the stain being replaced by patches of slightly paler surface. By cleaning the whole surface, any bleaching will affect all of the paving and not just individual spots.
Pre-wet the whole of the pavement with clean water. Before the surface dries, spray with the prepared cleaning fluid (or brush with the fluid) and use a stiff brush to gently scrub the whole surface.
The cleaning fluid needs to be left on the surface for 15-20 minutes and during that time, the surface must not be allowed to dry out. Mist with additional cleaning fluid or with clean water to prevent the paving from drying. Work the area(s) of staining with a brush, if necessary, but ensure the surface remain wet at all times. After the 15-20 minute cleaning period, the pavement should be washed down with clean water. Keep in mind that the cleaning fluid will harm or possibly kill vegetation so avoid washing off into garden's or lawns. Once washed off, the paving may be allowed to dry.
This treatment usually works with normal staining, depending on how you define "normal staining". Awkward or heavy staining may need two or three treatments, and in exceptional cases, it may be necessary to reduce the dilution of Sodium Hypochlorite to a ratio of 2:1 (2 liters of water to 1 liter of NaClO).
A further handy tip for heavy staining is to pre-wash the affected paving with "OxiClean", a product more normally associated with domestic laundry.
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Last Updated on Sunday, 09 May 2010 01:35 |
We exclusively use Techni-Seal products for applications on hardscape surfaces because Techni-Seal products are the only cleaning and sealing products recognized by major paver manufacturers and the quality of the raw materials used in their formulations are second to none. 
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