Ideas for cleaning up the white deposit on the garage floor where an electric golf cart has been parked. I have used baking soda/water for similar deposit on battery posts. That could make a bigger mess, but I suppose I could scoop it up. Better idea?
Baking soda is for neutralizing acid - you want just the opposite - you want to dissolve the deposit. Here is my idea: HCL (battery acid) + CaCo3 in cement yields a soluble CaCl which you can soak with HCL again (muriatic acid in the hardware store), and redissolve the calcium deposit, then wire brush it while wet, and rinse off. Dry the area afterwards by stomping or crushing some cat litter or kaolin over the spot, to fully dry it.
, -?-¨--`-L-|-Ð-T-¼-à- -0- sulfate or sulfite), and he does indeed want to neutralize it. Baking soda might not be the right tool for the job, but it's a better idea than any acid.
HCl, by the way, is not battery acid (batteries use concentrated sulfuric acid). It will, however, react with concrete, and likely cause severe pitting.
Seems to me that the first approach should be the one which will do the least harm: rinse with copious quantities of water.
If that doesn't do the trick, scrubbing with a moderate alkali such as trisodium phosphate or washing soda should be the next step, as neither one will harm the concrete in any way. Follow with a thorough rinse.
-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt. And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?
Like doug suggested start off lightly with more common cleaners. Afterall, for all I know it is just a thick oily coat of dust. THere are also solutions specifically for cleaning concrete in the hardware stoor. Look near the power washers.
If it appears to be a deposit of Calcium (like a hard water stain) it may be efflurescence. This can be removed using many different acids. Most common is HCL available in muriatic acid (for pools) or toilet cleaner (I get it at the dollar store and is quite a high concentration). Sulphamic acid crystals in the tile/grout cleaning isle and non acid efflurescence removers if you are uncomfortable with acid.
When you are done acid etching, neutralize with baking soda and water until it stops fizzing.
Battery acid is H2SO4. H2SO4 + CaCO3 = H2CO3 + CaSO4. CaSO4 is, chemically, rather stable and insoluble and will not react with HCl as I remember. Probably best that you try scrubbing it up. --- SJF
You guys are so right - don't know where I dredged up the HCL being battery acid story, but thanks for the correction.
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