Maintaining concrete floors can be hard work, especially if it has been neglected for a long time. But if you know exactly what to do, you will be able to save yourself a lot of time and money and still manage to get a good looking concrete floor. You can do this with the help of something called acid washing. Acid washing is very commonly used in swimming pools and on large concrete surfaces that need to be cleaned fast and effectively. If done right acid washing can be very effective and fast. You just need to know what you are doing. So this article is meant to guide you through the major steps of acid washing in a safe and easy manner. First, you will need to make sure that the concrete surface is ready for acid washing. For this, you need to clear the surface of any lose debris, dirt, lichen, algae or similar things. Once this has been done, the surface is ready to be acid washed. Then, you need to figure out how much acid wash you need. For this, you can follow the directions of an online home improvement guide or forum because various situations will change the amount of acid you will need and it is not only the size. Once you know how much acid wash you are going to need, order that amount plus one pound of soda ash per gallon of acid wash. This way, you can rest assured that you will have enough soda ash to neutralize the rinse water before you drain it out through the domestic drainage system. This necessary because acid water is potentially hazardous if not neutralized with soda ash properly. Other that the acid and soda ash, you will also need acid proof brushes for scrubbing, protective gloves and facemask. Make sure your feet are protected as well. Acid can eat away skin if it comes in to direct contact with you. The facemask will protect you from the fumes. You might also need to get permissions from or notify your relevant civic authorities that you will be releasing potentially hazardous material in to the drainage system. They might have some extra rules that you will need to follow. Now that you are ready to use the acid wash, clear out the entire surface and dilute the acid to the required level. Use a plastic bucket for this and then use a plastic mug to pour the solution on to a small are of the surface. Depending on how much grime or scaling you need to remove, you will have to keep the acid wash on the surface from half to around three minutes. Then wash it away with water. Repeat this over the entire area in batches of small areas. Do not let the rinse water accumulate because it might burn into the surface, so you might want to keep the hose running. Once the entire surface is done, you are done too!
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