chemicals

[sambo 14]

i would like to know what are some good raw chemicals that i can purchase from my local chemical store? im looking for some good mixtures i can use for tile roofs and also cleaning concrete.its kinda hard for me to ask this question because when i ask people always refer me to some name brand chemical stuff that i know will do the job but im not that far ahead yet money wise. dont get me wrong would love to buy the best of things but some dont have the luxory of that yet. thanks for any future info

[dk34 14]

www.thechemistrystore.com

All the raw material you want.

[Paul B. 523]

Raw chemicals may or may not achieve desired results for you as often they have to be combined with other chemicals to work effectively. Also not knowing what % to mix could be harmful to the substrate as well as dangerous to plants, animals and humans.

For example: a concrete cleaning chemical may contain Sodium Hydroxide or Potassium Hydroxide along with 2-Butoxyethanol, Sodium Metasilicate, Sodium Ethylenediamina Tetraacetate, Oxyetheylene along with other surfactants. Getting proper results depends on knowing the proper % of each to mix together. You should also know that liquids are measured by volume and crystals are measured by weight. Knowing the weight of your solids is critical as one volume oz. of chemical may weigh twice as much as one volume oz. of another.

I'm not trying to discourage you, but if you are not familiar with a bit of chemistry, you may spend more money trying to mix the correct combination than if you purchased a pre-packaged product from a known supplier. In any case, make sure if you attempt to mix chemicals that you know what chemicals can and can not be mixed together (as some may give off toxic fumes and become deadly). If you are not sure, ask your supplier. And last but not least, make sure you wear protective safety gear when mixing your chemicals (ie.: gloves, goggles, mask, etc.).

[sambo 14]

paul b thanks for the advise what are some pre-packaged products out there that are good for tile roofs and and concrete? i need something i can shurflo on and off or x-jet on. just looking for some kind of product out there that do the job

[KCM67 14]

bleach and a good surfactant will work wonders

[Paul B. 523]

I don't clean tile roofs so I can't help you there. We clean asphalt shingles to remove mold & mildew and use a 1:3 mix of 10-12% Pool Shock (at about a 3-4% application strength).

For concrete, it would depend on what type of cleaning you are doing.

For "new construction" concrete cleaning you could use a Prosoco product such as 600 Detergent mixed 1:10 with cold water or Prosoco Vana Trol which is milder and mixed at 1:4 or 1:5 will work wonders on removing red clay, mud and other construction dirt. You have to be careful with the 600 Detergent as it can etch concrete if not diluted enough or left on too long. There are a couple of other products that work well also for removing red clay. www.SunBriteSupply.com has Crete Clean Plus.

For residential driveways, most of there time water by itself will clean off environmental dirt. 10-12% Pool Shock diluted 1:3 (at about a 3-4% application strength) will remove leaf (tannin) stains. For automotive grease and oil stains you need a Sodium Hydroxide based product such as HD-80. SunBrite also sells a Potassium Hydroxide based product called Concrete Cleaner that we have used and works well. Remember, Sodium Hydroxide and Potassium Hydroxide based cleaners can and most likely will darken the concrete after cleaning so an Oxalic Acid based brightener should be used to get the brightness back. Beth's Citralic Acid would work well for the brightening.

For commercial concrete with heavy food grade oil and grease stains you need a Potassium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide based detergent. I don't clean any commercial concrete so I can't pinpoint you to a brand name that I have 1st hand experience with but maybe Jon or someone else on this board will help with that.