Coal Water Stain

Kungur · Post by **Kungur** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 6:58 am

I hope someone can give me some advice.
I have mobile bins in my basement for my rice coal and the last delivery the coal was very wet. Well I had water leak out and the after it dried it left a yellowish stain on the concrete floor.
Any thoughts on how to clean?
Thanks!

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 7:06 am

Try a little toilet bowl cleaner--ex: "snoball", "the works"--& brush & hose down. Pix would be helpful.

Post by **ONEDOLLAR** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 7:07 am

Similar thing happened to me a couple of years ago and I used a little baking soda and water on the tile floor. Did the job for me might be worth trying for you.

blrman07 · Post by **blrman07** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 7:36 am

Kungur wrote:I hope someone can give me some advice.
I have mobile bins in my basement for my rice coal and the last delivery the coal was very wet. Well I had water leak out and the after it dried it left a yellowish stain on the concrete floor.
Any thoughts on how to clean?
Thanks!

Hmmm by your location I would guess this is bit coal water? The yellow is probably sulphur left behind after the water evaporated.

Kungur · Post by **Kungur** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 7:52 am

It is anthracite rice coal. Will try these ideas. Thanks!

Post by **coaledsweat** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 8:30 am

Yellow is sulfer, red is iron. They both should come up easy with a mild acid. Try some white vinegar.

grumpy · Post by **grumpy** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 2:10 pm

If that doesn't work try this....

davidmcbeth3 · Post by **davidmcbeth3** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 4:55 pm

Coke hahaha .. concrete would laugh at phosphoric acid. Try muratic acid as a last resort. It will dissolve the concrete ... so either dilute it or use it quick. And the acid is a mixture of HCl and boric acid, the HCl is very dangerous stuff....use accordingly.

I would first try a mixture of water/ethanol/vinegar (ie weak solution of acetic acid) and EDTA .... about 1:2:5 parts of the liquid and 5% EDTA (which is a solid)

Or try some CLR cleaner...

carlherrnstein · Post by **carlherrnstein** » Thu. Jul. 30, 2015 9:10 pm

Iron stains can be yellow, brown, red, or even black. Try some iron out.

CoalisCoolxWarm · Post by **CoalisCoolxWarm** » Thu. Sep. 17, 2015 6:33 pm

For iron, one of the best cleaners I've used is The Works (Blue) Toilet Bowel Cleaner. It is a fairly concentrated HCL for home use.

USE LOTS OF VENTILATION AND DO NOT BREATHE the vapors!!!

It dissolves iron quite well, just don't inhale. Water dilutes it quickly, but a floor may be a challenge.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER mix chlorine (bleach, HCL, etc) with ammonia [Skull and Crossbones]

Muriatic acid is HCL, too.

Do not leave HCL on concrete too long, it will damage it and likely leave marks.

Hope this helps.

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Thu. Sep. 17, 2015 7:18 pm

Gotta love it when people get back to a post & let us know what worked. I hope K's OK???