Hi guys !

 

I have a driveway made out of those composite material tiles. They are

incredibly difficult to clean (water stains/calcium deposit). The only thing

that really works well is acid - but that messes up my stainless steel fence.

 

So I am thinking to sandblast them. Any opinions on that ?

Does anybody have a portable sandblaster int he Pattaya area ?

 

Thanks,

rudi

If you have a power washer you can buy a wet blasting attachment for about 40 quid plus shipping and wet blast it yourself. 

 

 

Looking at yor driveway i would say a straight forward high pressure washer would do it?

2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

If you have a power washer you can buy a wet blasting attachment for about 40 quid plus shipping and wet blast it yourself. 

 

 

Looking at yor driveway i would say a straight forward high pressure washer would do it?

 

 

Thanks for that suggestion, I will take a look.

 

I have a high power washer, and we can't get it look decent. Tried all kinds of cleaners, and as I said only acid has worked so far.

 

rudi

 

 

 

That just seems so extreme - and messy.  Using normal bathroom cleaners and a brush (versus power washer) works for most of our needs.  The wife has even tried laying salt down on moldy places with good results (except I don't like wasting salt like that even if it is from the local evaporation farm.)

I have similar porous tiles in my carport and driveway. Mine are cream/grey coloured so hard to keep clean.

I use a grout cleaner from homepro ( acid based ) or alternatively hot water with bleach/Mr Muscle and and then jetwash. Letting the detergent soak in for an hour seems to help a lot ( I don't let it dry out)  

The grout comes up clean and it removes most of the tannin stains from leaves etc.  I've seen the grit blasting attachment for my Karcher jetwash advertised but never seen a non-industrial set up in action.

I'd seal the tiles if it was a smaller area but a good quality sealant that will hold up in this climate seems to be hard to get as well.

 

Takes a couple of Months to get dirty then it's out with the jet wash.

My first effort would be to take some laundry bleach in the blue bottles and try it on a small patch.  Soak a towel in a mix of bleach mixed 1:1 with water and let the towel sit for an hour on a small section then see what it looks like when you lift the towel.  If it's mildew growing in the grout, it will look a lot better.  If it's plain old dirt, good luck...

 

Keep in mind all the caveats about dealing with a toxic irritant.

 

 

 

Thanks to all of you for the replies. I went ahead and ordered one of those wet sandblasting attachments for my high-pressure sprayer ...

 

It was $30 USD free shipping, from China ... we'll see how well that works ....

 

Bleach doesn't work, I believe that I have calcium deposits from my well water on the tiles ...

 

Thanks,

rudi

 

 

Now you have to start looking for some fine dry sand:-)

I wonder how often you'd have to sandblast the driveway to keep it clean, and how well/how long the composite material tiles will stand up to repeated cleanings.

 

Also, if it's possible to put some sort of sealing coat down that could be maintained easier, or sandblasted off and re-applied when necessary.

Honest...believe it or not...If you use a strong chlorine mix( pool chlorine) and brush it on and leave for about 10 mins then water blast it off...you wont have to do it again for about 6 months....

Now you have the sand blaster attachment....get brickies loam (it's finer) and WASH it in a drum first....let it dry, and use that. Be careful what type of sand you use.

5 hours ago, weegee said:

Honest...believe it or not...If you use a strong chlorine mix( pool chlorine) and brush it on and leave for about 10 mins then water blast it off...you wont have to do it again for about 6 months....

Now you have the sand blaster attachment....get brickies loam (it's finer) and WASH it in a drum first....let it dry, and use that. Be careful what type of sand you use.

 

Nope ! Tried it, doesn't work.

 

rudi

 

4 hours ago, luudee said:

 

Nope ! Tried it, doesn't work.

 

rudi

 

My goodness....You certainly do have a problem then. Keep at it, you will find a solution.

Let us all know on here, when you solve the problem

Rgds

weegee

 

Seems like you have two issues.  Mold/algae - try some zinc/sulfur/whatever anti-fungal.  Bleach would help.  As far as calcium deposit, a very mild acid should take care of that.  Abrasive blasting will erode the glaze coating on the tiles and the whole thing will go to hell.

 

I had an old wooden deck.  All green and slimy.  Got a solution that was only lye (sodium hydroxide) and chlorine bleach.  Wow.