Concrete is extremely durable. Due to its durability, it’s often used to make exterior floors like the basement, patio, and driveway. However, these areas of your home will get dirty quickly as they are outdoor spaces. If the concrete surface gets filthy by stain, oil, and grease, you can’t remove them with regular detergent. And the TSP cleaner comes into play to deal with the sticky & greasy grime on your concrete base.
This highly concentrated cleaning agent will help you remove any hard-to-remove stain & dirt from the concrete base. So, you give it a shot to leave your concrete surface. Here in this guide on TSP Cleaner (concrete), we will break down everything about Trisodium Phosphate. Without further ado, let’s get started right here.
TSP Cleaner Concrete: What Is It?
Contents
Trisodium Phosphate, mostly known as TSP, is a blended cleaning ingredient that includes 75-80% trisodium phosphate and 20-25% sodium carbonate. It’s actually a dry and odorless powder that you need to mix with hot water. It’s slightly cloudy when you blend with hot water. Once you make a solution, apply it to the concrete base or other. Then, use a stiff bristle brush to scrub the surface. Finally, rinse your concrete base with clean water. It’s just simple.
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Pros and Cons of Using TSP Cleaner
From this chapter, you can learn about the advantages and disadvantages of using TSP cleaner to clean the surface.
Pros:
It’s highly efficient to remove the stubborn and greasy dirt when other cleaners fail.
Simple to use. Just mixed with hot water and you are ready to apply it when it gets dissolved.
Perfect for cleaning exterior surfaces like concrete, stone, brick, and cement.
Efficient in removing the old paint from the surface.
Strong enough to remove mold & mildew.
Cons:
It’s toxic and harmful.
Not environmentally-friendly.
Many states ban the use of TSP
It could damage faucets, glass, and mirrors.
Can You Use TSP To Clean Concrete
Yes, you can use TSP to clean concrete. Generally, it’s an alkaline-based cleaner or chemical. Due to this, it brings no damage to your concrete base. This chemical cleaner is powerful and concentrated enough to remove stubborn and sticky dirt, debris, and grime from the concrete base.
If you want to use trisodium phosphate for heavy-duty cleaning, mix ½ cup of tsp with two gallons of water. On the other hand, you should mix only ¼ cup of TSP with two gallons of hot water for household cleaning.
Though TSP is powerful to cut through sticky and stubborn dirt, it’s toxic. Extended exposure to it will cause eye and skin irritation. So, read the safety precaution tips before applying them. Make sure you wear gloves, glasses, and long sleeves when using it.
How To Use TSP To Clean Concrete
TSP is a powerful & concentrated cleaning ingredient to clean accumulated layers of dirt, grime, stains, and grease on the exterior surfaces especially masonry like concrete, brick, cement, and stone. In this chapter, we will break down how to use this chemical to clean your concrete surfaces.
Make A Solution
Pour two gallons of water into a bucket. Then, add ½ cup of TSP to the water for heavy-duty cleaning projects like cleaning the concrete driveway. Ensure the water you add is hot, which will help dissolve the TSP quickly and make it soluble.
Safety Tips: Make sure you wear gloves, glasses, and long sleeves. Otherwise, you will experience eye and skin irritation due to its exposure.
Sweep The Concrete Surface
Now, it’s time to wipe away the concrete surface like your concrete driveway to remove dirt & debris. If you don’t vacuum the surface, the dirt & debris will form mud when you mop the surface with the TSP & water solution. After sweeping the surface, wet the concrete floor with a garden hose.
Apply The Solution
In this stage, you need to spray the TSP solution on your concrete surface. You can use a sprayer to apply this solution throughout your entire concrete floor. You can leave the concrete base for a few minutes to let the solution set.
Start Scrubbing
Take a stiff bristle brush and start scrubbing the surface. It will help remove the greasy, grimy, and stubborn stains from the surface.
Rinse The Concrete Surface
Finally, it’s time to wash the concrete surface with clean water. Use a garden hose to wash your outdoor concrete base evenly to clean the stains & dirt. If needed, you can apply the solution for the second time. Then, scrub and rinse the surface.
How To Clean Concrete Patio With TSP
Here is the step-by-step guide to clean concrete patios with TSP. You can also follow the below cleaning steps to clean the floor.
Prepare A Solution
First off, make a TSP solution by pouring ¼ cup of tsp into 2 gallons of warm water for household cleanings like the patio or the floor. Then, mix both ingredients properly.
Wipe Away Your Patio
Before applying it to your patio, make sure you sweep the surface evenly. It will help you remove the dirt, debris, and dust from the concrete base. In other words, vacuuming the dirt and debris will prevent the mud from forming.
Soak and Squeeze
Now, take a sponge and soak it into the cleaning solution. Then, hold the sponge over the bucket and squeeze it. A damp sponge is better than a wet one to clean the concrete base.
Clean Your Patio Surface
Now, clean your concrete patio from the bottom upward. Move the sponge roughly on the concrete base to remove sticky & greasy dirt from the surface.
Wash The Surface
Finally, rinse the concrete patio with warm water. We recommend you wash the patio again with clean water thoroughly. Otherwise, it will leave white powder on the surface when the TSP has dried.
Can TSP Be Used To Etch Concrete
No, you can’t use TSP to etch your concrete base. You can only use the TSP or trisodium phosphate to clean the concrete by removing dirt, debris, and grime. The etching steps will come after you clean your concrete with TSP.
A half-cup of TSP mixed into two gallons of water is sufficient to clean 800 sq feet. Once you clean the concrete, it’s time to find etching products to etch the concrete. You can use muriatic acid, Klean-Strip Phosphoric Prep & Etch, and Klean-Strip Green Muriatic Acid. The green muriatic acid is not strong enough to etch smooth concrete. However, it will be better for etching a bit of rough concrete.
In short, you can’t use TSP to etch concrete. But it helps you do the most important task you need to perform before etching the concrete. And it’s cleaning the concrete base.
FAQs
What can be used to clean concrete?
There are multiple cleaning products available in the market to clean concrete. You can use the solution of baking soda & vinegar to clean the concrete base. Therefore, you can try out the bleach, tsp, and soda to remove dirt, debris, and grime from the concrete base.
What is the best chemical to clean concrete?
Bleach is the best chemical to clean concrete. If your concrete base gets dirty by mold, dirt & grime, stains, you give the bleach a shot. Just make a solution by mixing a cup of bleach into 5 gallons of water. Then, spray it over your concrete base and let it dry. Then, use a scrubbing brush to scrub your concrete surface. Finally, wash the surface with clean water.
Does TSP remove oil from concrete?
Yes, TSP can remove oil from cabinets and concrete. Mix one part tsp into six-part water and blend them evenly. Then, apply this mixture or cleaning solution to the affected area. Leave the surface for at least 15 minutes. Then, start scrubbing the concrete base with a stiff bristle brush. Finally, clean your surface with clean water.
How do I clean my garage floor with TSP?
The garage floor can easily get greasy, oily, and dirty because of engine oil. If you want to remove the grease from the garage surface, TSP will be the surefire cleaning method to clean the stubborn grime. Just mix ½ cup of tsp with two gallons of water for heavy-duty cleaning. Then, apply this solution to your garage floor. Let it sit by leaving the surface for 15 minutes. Next, use a stiff brush to roughly brush the surface. Lastly, wash your garage floor with water evenly to leave it spotless.
Does TSP need to be rinsed?
Yes, you need to rinse the TSP with clean water. Depending on how dirty the floor is, you need to wash the surface several times to clean the TSP residue. If you don’t rinse the TSP evenly, it will leave a white powdery residue on the base once the TSP gets dried.
Is TSP good for cleaning floors?
Yes, TSP is good for cleaning floors. It is a powerful cleaning product that comes in white powder. When other cleaning agents fail to clean the engineered wood sticky dirt, debris, grease, and grime, TSP will work like a charm to tackle them.
Can you mop with TSP?
Yes, you can mop with TSP. Dissolve a ½ cup of tsp into two gallons of hot water for heavy-duty cleaning. Then, dip your mop into it and start mopping your surface evenly with this solution. It will help you remove grease, grime, and stubborn stains.
Conclusion
TSP or trisodium phosphate is a powerful cleaning agent and it’s effective in removing stubborn dirt from the concrete base. You can use it to clean your exterior surfaces like the concrete driveway, concrete patio, and concrete garage floor.
However, we recommend you maintain the safety precaution tips when using TSP as it’s toxic. Wear a mask, gloves, and glasses when cleaning your surface with concrete. Also, don’t forget to put on long sleeves. Otherwise, you will experience eye and skin irritations because of its exposure.
Some states ban the use of TSP as it’s not eco-friendly. If the TSP cleaner is not available in your state, you can use Bleach to deal with the stubborn grease & grime on the concrete base.
