My paths and driveway are paved with white tiles, not the wisest move, I know, but it wasn't my choice. Over the years the area beneath a large plumeria/frangipani/leelawadee tree has become badly stained from the dead leaves lying there. I assumed my handyman would know how to clean the stains off, but he's tried the usual path cleaners, petrol, alcohol, acid (not wise with all the grout around) and some chemiclean stuff that I gather is used to clean engine blocks. None of it works, even with the Karcher at full blast.

 

Does anybody have any experience with cleaning these dead leaf stains off tiles? Thanks for any help.

 

 

 

 

Have you tried a power washer?  If it has actually stained into the tile, you're probably screwed.

3 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

Have you tried a power washer?  If it has actually stained into the tile, you're probably screwed.

Yes, I did mention that even the Karcher at full blast did nothing. There's lots of plumerias around the place, and I can't be the only one whose tiles have got stained. Or is it maybe that the tiles are a load of rubbish and the protective glaze isn't worth diddly squat? From what I recall, the tiles weren't exactly bargain basement.

If an acid wash won't remove it I think the stains are there to stay.

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide or liquid chlorine

18 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

Have you tried hydrogen peroxide or liquid chlorine

No, I've got a bottle of hydrogen peroxide handy so I'll give that a go. It certainly works on my white tee-shirts when they get nasty stains on them

51 minutes ago, grollies said:

If an acid wash won't remove it I think the stains are there to stay.

You may well be right. I said to my handyman as he was scrubbing the chemiclean in that it might be easier simply to replace the tiles. I'm disappointed though that some dead leaves will screw the glaze up like that.

In fairness to the tile, any decent external floortile wouldnt or shouldnt have much of a glaze anyway as they are dangerous.

 

Do you mean "sealed" rather than "glazed"?

For about 35 quid you can get a wet blast attachment for your power washer and sand blast the tiles.

1 hour ago, eyecatcher said:

In fairness to the tile, any decent external floortile wouldnt or shouldnt have much of a glaze anyway as they are dangerous.

 

Do you mean "sealed" rather than "glazed"?

Yes, no idea what the terminology is, but I assume they must have some coating on the outside to protect them from the elements (If not from falling leaves, shades of the British railway network).

51 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

For about 35 quid you can get a wet blast attachment for your power washer and sand blast the tiles.

That's something I'd leave to the handyman. I'll give teh hydrogen peroxide a spin tomorrow.

Is the stain "in" the tiles or "on" the tiles?

 

If on you can try leaving a bag of ice on a tile then when cold scrape at the surface see if anything peels off?

OK, the hydrogen peroxide worked just fine, thanks for suggesting that. You have to leave it soak for 30-60 minutes, or maybe even overnight, but it does a decent job of getting rid of the black stains. Now I just need to find an industrial-sized vat of the stuff, my 1 litre bottle won't clean many tiles.

 

 

BTW, this might not work so well on coloured tiles, I'm guessing it might affect the colour as well as removing the stains.

If peroxide works, then bleach would probably work better and less expensive.

12 minutes ago, Guderian said:

OK, the hydrogen peroxide worked just fine, thanks for suggesting that. You have to leave it soak for 30-60 minutes, or maybe even overnight, but it does a decent job of getting rid of the black stains. Now I just need to find an industrial-sized vat of the stuff, my 1 litre bottle won't clean many tiles.

 

 

BTW, this might not work so well on coloured tiles, I'm guessing it might affect the colour as well as removing the stains.

 

Sorry to be thick but the bottle in the picture is not Hydrogen Peroxide?

19 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Sorry to be thick but the bottle in the picture is not Hydrogen Peroxide?

The bottle in pic is Hygiene brand laundry bleach. If this is doing the job then pool chlorine will be much more effective and a lot cheaper.
 

22 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Sorry to be thick but the bottle in the picture is not Hydrogen Peroxide?

Really? What is it then, the writing is all in Thai? I asked in a local supermarket for a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and this is what I was given. They said there are a number of strengths, the colour of the screw top indicating what it is. I was told this one is a 12% solution. But that's just what I was told in the shop, it may be lao khao for all I know.

39 minutes ago, Guderian said:

Really? What is it then, the writing is all in Thai? I asked in a local supermarket for a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and this is what I was given. They said there are a number of strengths, the colour of the screw top indicating what it is. I was told this one is a 12% solution. But that's just what I was told in the shop, it may be lao khao for all I know.

Sodium Hypochlorite 6%

 

3 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

Sodium Hypochlorite 6%

That would be bleach.  Peroxide is H2O2.

3 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

That would be bleach.  Peroxide is H2O2.

Yes which is why I said pool chlorine would be more effective earlier.

If bleach works then this probably will as well. What I use to clean the bathroom floor.

 

 

Vixol Oxy.

10 minutes ago, Fruit Trader said:

Yes which is why I said pool chlorine would be more effective earlier.

OK.  I wan't referring to your earlier post but whatever.  "Pool chlorine" is usually the same chemical as bleach but twice as concentrated.

13 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

"Pool chlorine" is usually the same chemical as bleach but twice as concentrated.

It sure is strong and one should lookup chlorine safety precautions before use.

Pool chlorine liquid usually comes as sodium hypochlorite 10-15% solution.

 

This stuff is hydrogen peroxide 20%

 

 

7 minutes ago, grollies said:

Pool chlorine liquid usually comes as sodium hypochlorite 10-15% solution.

 

This stuff is hydrogen peroxide 20%

 

It contains hydrogen peroxide but it would not be called hydrogen peroxide.  The primary oxidizing agent in Oxykil (I googled it) is peracetic acid.

bleach will do it as well, 

 

26 minutes ago, bankruatsteve said:

It contains hydrogen peroxide but it would not be called hydrogen peroxide.  The primary oxidizing agent in Oxykil (I googled it) is peracetic acid.

No, it's not called hydrogen peroxide, granted.

 

Whilst looking round for hydrogen peroxide to use as a disinfectant for the broiler house water lines I came across this stuff. The US dripper manufacturer recommended it instead of sodium hypochlorite, which I already had, as a steriliser.

 

I generally find when asking for specific chemicals that I'm met with a blank state and a 'mai mee'. The chap in the shop said the same, produced the Oxykil and after Googling and checking the label came to the conclusion that this was the nearest best thing as it contains 20% hp.

 

Does what I need it to do.

 

 

PA05(S)_OXYKIL-E-THv1.2-193329.pdf

You learn something new every day, thanks. OK, so it's bleach, I can even see the word in English on the bottle now I know what I'm looking for. I just bought another litre of Haider bleach for 27 Baht and that works just as well so it's not too expensive. A bottle cleans around 8 to 10 of the tiles and I reckon there's probably around 30 or 40 that need some TLC, so 100 Baht should do it. Much cheaper than replacing the tiles anyway, thanks for all the help. 

Ah a result.

Just a thought - if it contains sodium hypochlorite, my vague memories of schoolboy chemistry make me think that produces hypochloric acid, a weak acid which I'm guessing is the active cleaning agent? Will the bleach dissolve the grout between the tiles, or will that only happen if you use it frequently?