Homemade Concrete Cleaner Recipes: 7 DIY Tips for Cleaning... (2024)

Making a homemade concrete cleaner is a breeze!

  • I gather my ingredients, which are cost-efficient and likely already in my pantry.
  • I mix them according to the easy recipes provided, creating powerful cleaning solutions.
  • I apply these mixtures to my concrete surfaces, whether it’s a driveway, patio, or countertops.
  • I scrub lightly, as these solutions require minimal effort to lift stains and dirt.
  • I enjoy the sparkling results, appreciating the effectiveness and affordability of my homemade cleaners.

To answer your main question, making a homemade concrete cleaner is very effective and also cost-efficient. You’ll need ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, and laundry detergent, which are typically found at home and are environmentally friendly. Follow the simple recipes to tackle different cleaning tasks, like degreasing or rust removal.

Apply the homemade cleaner, scrub with a stiff brush, and then rinse. With these methods, you quickly and easily maintain clean concrete surfaces without the need for harsh chemicals or expensive commercial products.

Are you sick of using harsh chemical cleaners to get the dirt and grime off your concrete floors and driveway? Have you been searching for different cleaning solutions that don’t involve using a pressure washer or power washer to clean your concrete patio? What about ones that don’t require using ingredients like oxygen bleach to get rid of concrete stains?

After asking yourself these questions, it’s our turn to ask you one question. Have you ever tried making a homemade concrete cleaner? Mixing ingredients to make an efficient DIY concrete cleaner may seem harder than you think, but it’s not.

We’ll teach you the basics of making the best homemade concrete cleaner using ingredients like baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, laundry detergent, white vinegar, and warm water. The best part is that you’ll be able to get out those tough stains while putting minimal elbow grease into it!

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Table Of Contents

  1. Easy Recipes for DIY Concrete Cleaning
    • Degreasing and Cleaning Concrete
    • Cleaning a Cement Patio
    • Use an Eco-Friendly Cleaner
    • Removing Rust Stains
    • Keeping Concrete Countertops Clean
    • Natural Concrete Cleaning Solution for Pressure Washers
    • Easy Concrete Washing
    • Recipe for a DIY Cement Cleaner

Easy Recipes for DIY Concrete Cleaning

Before cleaning your concrete or even staining your deck, you need to get rid of dirt and leaves that may be on the surface. Sweep or use a blower to get rid of loose debris first. If you will be sealing your concrete after cleaning or need to clean a deck before staining, look over our recipes for stain removal to bring back the original color of the material.

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Degreasing and Cleaning Concrete

When it comes time to cleaning oil stains off concrete, it’s important to know that you’ll have to use a DIY concrete cleaner that digs deep down into the pavement. If you’re looking for an excellent way to get oil stains off concrete, start mixing ingredients to make an excellent homemade concrete cleaner.

This recipe also works well as a pressure washer cleaning solution for concrete or brick.

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Cement Degreaser Recipe

  • Borax or laundry detergent
  • Vinegar
  • Baking soda
  • Hot water

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Apply baking soda directly to stain on concrete and let it sit for a few minutes. Pour vinegar on the baking soda and the mixture will start to fizzle. Then, apply laundry detergent and scrub with a stiff brush. Rinse the area with a fully powered hose.

Repeat if necessary for complete stain removal. Use this solution for cleaning composite deck with vinegar and baking soda to get rid of mold, mildew and other stains that may mar the surface, too.

Cleaning a Cement Patio

The floors of your house are precious to you, and that’s why you keep them clean; well, the same should go for your patio. We suggest cleaning your patio in the spring, before peak patio season.

Before applying a DIY concrete patio cleaner, be sure to remove all “extra’s” from the concrete (e.g., plants, chairs, etc.). Then, sweep away any dirt or debris present on the patio and apply homemade concrete patio cleaner.

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Semi-Dirty Outdoor Concrete Washing

  • Bleach
  • Water
  • 1/8 cup dishwashing detergent

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Mix bleach with water and then add dishwashing detergent to the mix and put it into a spray bottle. Spray the solution onto the cement patio, let it sit for a few minutes, then scrub the mix into the concrete with a stiff brush.

Use an Eco-Friendly Cleaner

A homemade concrete cleaner that provides a gentle cleaning solution is typically eco-friendly; eco-friendly homemade cleaners almost always use ingredients found in your kitchen.

Mix equal parts water and vinegar and apply it to concrete. If this stain removal technique doesn’t work, use 100% vinegar and scrub stains out. This solution makes the best homemade deck cleaner and can work on many surfaces, including car seats and hardwood floors.

Removing Rust Stains

First things first, use a pressure washing or a power washing technique to get rid of loose dirt on the cement. Once you’ve done this, use a dry cleaning method, or let the cement air dry before moving on to the next step.

Once the surface is dry, pour or spray lemon juice on the rusted areas. Let the highly acidic liquid sit for ten or more minutes before scrubbing. You can use white vinegar to get the job done, too. Then, rinse off the surface with cold water.

If you’re having trouble getting rust stains out of concrete on more delicate or worn out areas, try using a sponge with a rough surface and avoid using a wire brush.

Keeping Concrete Countertops Clean

The best defense mechanism against a dirty countertop is to seal it completely. Think of it this way: unsealed countertops encourage stains, and sealed countertops shoo them away.

If you purchased a countertop, chances are the company you hired to install the countertop used a concrete sealer to keep the counter stable. However, over time, seals can fade. In turn, this means that the countertop in your home should be re-coated every few years to prevent stains from showing up.

One way to make sure it’s time to re-seal your countertop is to check whether water still beads when present on the surface. If it doesn’t bead, you’ll want to start looking into sealing quartz countertops.

Natural Concrete Cleaning Solution for Pressure Washers

Power washers are by far the most accessible tool to use when trying to clean the exterior of your home, especially when it comes to concrete. If made right, a homemade concrete cleaning solution for pressure washer can kill off mold, too.

To start making your solution, pour one gallon of water into a bucket. Try to get the water to a hot temperature. Then, add baking soda little by little and stir while adding the baking soda until it has dissolved into the water. Add in one quart of household bleach and dish detergent, then mix slowly to avoid the suds from overpowering the bucket.

Once this natural cleaner is mixed together, pour it into the pressure washer and follow the directions for the tool as stated on the packaging for the best DIY cleaning result.

Easy Concrete Washing

There’s always one cleaning solution out there that takes seconds to whip up. Recipes like this will give homeowners a break, especially when it’s been a rough week.

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Simple DIY Concrete Cleaning Recipe

  • 2 parts baking soda
  • 1 part bleach

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Mix the two ingredients until the solution is thick and soapy. Pour little amounts of the solution onto stained areas, or dip a wire brush in the solution and start scrubbing the stained surfaces.

Learning ways to clean concrete around the inside and outside of your home is the start to a great home improvement lifestyle. Here, you’ve determined how to make the best DIY miracle concrete patio cleaner. You’ve also learned how to mix kitchen ingredients to create long-lasting homemade concrete cleaning recipes.

Recipe for a DIY Cement Cleaner

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Homemade Concrete Cleaner

Yield: 1 cup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Stubborn cement stains are no match for this cleaning solution.

Materials

  • 8 ounces bleach
  • 16 ounces baking soda

Tools

  • Gloves
  • Bucket
  • Measuring cup
  • Stir stick
  • Brush
  • Hose

Instructions

  1. Put on the gloves.
  2. Mix the bleach and baking soda in the bucket.
  3. Pour a little of the paste onto the stained concrete.
  4. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
  5. Scrub with the brush.
  6. Rinse with clean water from the hose.

Notes

This mixture will kill the grass, so direct your rinsing to the street.

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We hope you like our homemade concrete cleaning tips and recipes. Please share these DIY concrete cleaner ideas on Facebook or Pinterest with your friends and family.

Homemade Concrete Cleaner Recipes: 7 DIY Tips for Cleaning... (2024)

FAQs

What is the best homemade concrete cleaner? ›

Combining bleach, powdered laundry detergent, and hot water gives you a mixture that can help remove stains and whiten the concrete. You may need to scrub the mixture into the concrete using a bristle brush to really wash away dirt and grime.

Will Dawn and vinegar clean concrete? ›

Vinegar and Baking Soda

Simply fill a spray bottle with equal parts water and vinegar (or water and baking soda), and add a little bit of liquid dish detergent. Spray the mixture on your concrete surface and let it sit for about 30 minutes. Then scrub and rinse your concrete.

How do you make homemade concrete remover? ›

Fill a spray bottle using half of the pure white vinegar and top it off with lukewarm water. Shake the contents of your spray bottle for at least 5 minutes in order to thoroughly mix the water and vinegar. Vinegar's acidity helps in dissolving your cement stains, which makes it easier to remove.

How do you super clean concrete? ›

White vinegar and a little scrubbing with a brush is a very effective, eco-friendly way to remove rust stains from concrete—even those that are decades old. Pour the white vinegar directly onto the stain, allow the liquid to penetrate the area for 20 minutes, and scrub with a stiff-bristled brush.

Does hydrogen peroxide clean concrete? ›

Grab Hydrogen Peroxide

For a natural, stronger solution to tackle stubborn stains on concrete surfaces, mix flour and hydrogen peroxide into a paste the consistency of peanut butter.

What is the main ingredient in concrete cleaner? ›

Glycolic acid is preferred in concrete cleaners and removers as it combines the essential cleaning attributes, required acidity, and necessary metal complexing capability for concrete cleaners and cement dissolving formulations.

Will baking soda and vinegar clean concrete? ›

Pour one cup baking soda into a plastic bucket or bowl. Slowly add two cups of distilled white vinegar. The mixture will foam up but will settle if you mix it slowly. The consistency should be like a cream soup—thick enough to cling to the surface but not too thick to spread.

What is the best solution to clean a concrete patio? ›

Muriatic acid is also a strong and popular cleaning agent to remove stains from concrete or garage floors. Apply the chosen solution to the stain and let it sit for the recommended time, usually 15-30 minutes. Scrub and Rinse: Use a stiff bristle brush or scrubbing pad to scrub the stained area vigorously.

What is the best chemical to clean concrete? ›

Enter hydrochloric acid, a heavy-duty cleaning solution. Also known as muriatic acid, this robust cleaning agent can delve deep into concrete, banishing even the most stubborn stains.

What is the best homemade patio cleaner? ›

Soapy water method. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need any fancy products to clean a patio without a pressure washer. In fact, one of the most effective patio cleaning products is good old-fashioned washing-up liquid mixed with warm tap water.

How do you make patio cleaner for concrete? ›

Mixing Vinegar with Water

It's simple to create a vinegar and water solution for patio cleaning. Simply mix an equal amount of white vinegar and water. However, for patios with tougher stains, you can increase the vinegar concentration slightly more than the 1:1 ratio to make the solution more potent.

What dissolves concrete fast? ›

The best method for getting concrete splatter off of drain pipes is to use Croc Crete mortar dissolver. It doesn't endanger the surface and is safe. Plus, it works incredibly well. Concrete is attacked by Croc Crete's heavy duty concrete dissolver which then turns it into a fluid state that is easily removed.

What does baking soda do to concrete? ›

Sodium bicarbonate acts as an accelerator in concrete, causing it to rapidly stiffen. The surface of the concrete that touches the baking soda stiffens to form a crust that can wrinkle, crack, and deform during casting. This is where the stone like texture comes from.

What do pros use to clean concrete? ›

Alkaline solutions: Commercial concrete driveway cleaning often involves the removal of tough, set-in oil or grease stains. Alkaline cleaners are usually the best way to lift out the oil so it can then be washed away.

What to spray on concrete before pressure washing? ›

Applying a degreaser will loosen stains in the concrete, allowing you to pressure wash them away. Some pressure washers have an attachment tool for applying degreaser. Otherwise, scrub the degreaser into the concrete with a stiff-bristled brush or push broom.

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