There is more to Flat Work than just using water!

Concrete contract cleaners can find some equipment companies stating in advertisements that their product is so good, no chemicals are needed, that you just need water. They go on to state how "Green" and environmentally friendly their way to wash is.

But what they may fail to mention, is for some of these types of concrete cleaning equipment, the way they make the concrete clean is by using so much pressure or agitation that a complete layer of concrete is removed, or etched off to get this back to new looking results. Or that even with using water alone, grease and oils being lifted out of and off of the concrete surface are themselves, bio hazards and in many areas will still need to be reclaimed and not be allowed to just flow into storm drains or even some sewer lines. Check the regulations in your particular area.

I am not saying you should not use rotary surface scrubbers or hot water sprayers but that you should be using both chemicals and equipment to give your customer the result they want, clean concrete, without ending up with something they don't, thinner or etched concrete.

For your general, basic, flat work concrete cleaning we have our “Concrete Cleaner”. This works well in combination with pressure washing equipment. With its organic solvents dissolving grease, tire marks and other debris the equipment doesn't have to work as hard to remove them from the concrete and can leave a clean but unmarred surface.

We have degreasers as well like “Mighty-O”, “Mighty-Max” and “Mighty Max Plus” these all contain butyl, a great oil and grease cutter. But do not use them on asphalt parking lots, only concrete. The differences between these three mainly are the amount of butyl they contain, 3%, 6% or 10% respectively. These are perfect for drive thrus, parking garages and concrete parking lots where a lot of vehicle, oil, grease and transmission fluid have been deposited and soaked into the porous surface of the concrete. These locations can be spot treated, in the heavy traffic areas, before the pressure washer or surface cleaner is used over the entire location. Many times additional cleaners may not need to be added.

For more difficult restoration cleaning, we have a product called “Pro BRC” or Building Restoration Cleaner for brick and masonry to remove years of neglect, mold, mildew and dirt. It will restore brick and mortar lines back to original or near original color with out using damaging high pressure that can loosen mortar joints.

If you have a customer with mineral water deposits from their sprinkler system discoloring their brick buildings or concrete walkways, we have “Concrete Rust Remover”. This is a powder that is mixed 4 lbs per 5 gallons of water. You just have to spray on to the stained areas and then clean as normal for these marks to lift off. Works on white pebble/rock bedding areas too.

We also carry some more environmentally friendly products when other products can not be used due to Home Owners Associations or other factors, like our “Natures Green APC” all purpose cleaner or “Mighty Green” which is in the same family as the well known Simple Green®. But "Green" on does not equal "Green" off, so be sure and follow the 'best practice' rules for waste water for your location, reclaim may still be needed.

For more detailed product descriptions of the above mentioned items, go to www.soapwarehouse.biz and look under the Exterior Products tab 'Concrete Products' and under the Degreaser tab.