Removing red chalk lines from concrete
replying to Tekkie®, mowmow wrote: I've had great luck with IRON OUT. I mixed a couple of cups of it into a couple of gallons of warm water and used a stiff bristled brush on the end of a broom handle (Menards) to pre-soak the area. I then sprinkled the Iron Out directly on the chalk line (which had been there for two years now). After a few minutes, I used the brush to work the wet powder a bit. I then used the mix in the bucket to essentially rinse the area while not diluting it excessively. I again added the powder directly to the areas where red remained. After about an hour of repeating this process (an not much sweat) the lines were completely gone in most areas and mostly gone in the rest. Wish I would have done this years ago. I finished with a garden hose and "wet-broomed" all residue off of the drive - the red will reappear all-spread-out if you don't do this.
I'd be worried about CLR affecting the appearance of the concrete (concrete in my area is heavy in limestone. Maybe Iron Out would have similar concerns (I'm no chemist) but I can say with certainty that it had no ill effects on my drive and I've used it to remove rust marks in several places in my very large concrete drive. Almost TOO easy!
Finally, someone commented about people doing stupid things when they don't hire professionals. I can tell you that even the best make mistakes, and that is what happened in my case. I hired the best in the area, and one their newbies used red chalk and we scolded for it. It will happen again to somebody - even if they hire professionals.
Posted 5 years ago by mowmow in Home Repair
