Nobody enjoys having a driveway covered in stains from who-knows-what. It is one of the most annoying things to try to clean out of your driveway, especially when you do not even know where the stains came from. To clean out driveway stains, you will need to know at least two things. You will need to know what kind of material your driveway is made of. This will help you know how to care for it. After all, an asphalt driveway is going to have a different cleaning process than coloured concrete driveways will. Once you know what type of material your driveway is made of, the next thing you should also know is what made the stain.

This will help you find the most efficient way to remove that stain. Even if you don’t know the origin, there are a few ways that you can remove driveway stains.

 

Always Prioritise Speed

When it comes to making sure that the stains on your coloured concrete driveways come out quickly and easily, time is of the essence. The longer a staining material stays on your driveway, the deeper the stain will become, making it quite difficult to fix this issue. If you notice that you have spilled something that tends to stain coloured concrete (oil, gasoline, anti-freeze, and so on), you need to clean it up as quickly as possible. Usually, an absorbent material will get the job done. This means that you should always have some spare baking soda or cat litter that you can use to take care of these stains before they mar the way that your driveway looks.

 

Removing Tyre Marks from the Driveway

Driveway stains don’t always come from spilled materials. Other times, tyres can leave nasty marks on your driveway, which can decrease the kerb appeal of the house. Nobody wants this to happen, making it all the more important for you to be able to remove tyre marks as soon as you notice that they are a problem. More often than not, all you will really need is some degreaser and some scrubbing to get the tyre marks out of the concrete driveway. However, there are times when you could need something stronger to clean your coloured concrete driveways. This will involve some solvent or chemical strippers to get the seal off the driveway so that the tyre marks can be removed. Afterward, make sure that you seal the driveway so that this doesn’t happen again.

 

Always Reseal a Driveway After Cleaning

Part of the reason that cleaning a driveway appears to work so well is that you end up scrubbing everything off the surface. When you are dealing with problematic stains such as those from antifreeze or tyres, this can be incredibly helpful. However, this also means that you are scrubbing away some of the sealant that keeps your driveway in tip top condition and prevents stains from happening. Because of this, whenever you plan to remove stains from coloured concrete driveways, you should always remember to reseal the driveway. Not only will this help with the driveway’s longevity but it will also help to prevent future stains when you choose to rely on a high-quality sealant.

 

Removing Oil or Antifreeze

These are the most common types of stains that you will encounter when you are trying to keep your driveway looking brand-new. Thankfully, because these stains are so common, there are many products out there that will get the job done. Typically, you will want to make sure that you use a degreaser on the stain first. Let that degreaser soak for a little bit before scrubbing down the driveway with a stiff brush. Once you are finished with the stiff brush, you need to use a pressure washer and some detergent to thoroughly wash down the area, if you have access to one. (If you don’t have a pressure washer, more dishwasher detergent can get the job done. Deeper stains will need more tries.) After all this is finished, you will have a stain-free driveway to boast about.

 

Making Sure That Your Driveway Is Clean

As you are getting to work on cleaning your driveway, no matter what material it is, there are a few things that you will want to make sure of. First, you will need to take extra precautions to be sure that you are not spilling oil or antifreeze. If a spill does happen, you need to clean it up as quickly as possible to prevent the stain from setting deep within the material of your driveway. When all is said and done, enough time spent on making sure that the stain is gone will leave you with a driveway looking cleaner than ever.

 

To speak to a driveway professional, approach the team at Simply Driveways.