Remove Blood Stains from Concrete
Removing blood stains from concrete seems to be a daunting task. Concrete is porous and stain would tend to soak into it on contact. That is why stain removal for concrete is really tough and needs special treatment.
For effectively removing blood stains from concrete, the chemical method should be used. This involves the application of water or specific chemicals. The chemicals dissolve the stain so that it can be blotted up from the surface of the concrete. This article shows the steps used in the chemical method.
Steps
- Wear chemical protective gloves, mouth mask and safety glasses. Wear clothing that will protect your skin from getting in contact with the chemicals.
- Saturate the blood stained surface with clear, cold water.
- Cover the surface with a thin layer of sodium peroxide powder. Do this very carefully and make sure you do not breath any of the peroxide dust nor let it come in contact with your skin. Sodium Peroxide is highly toxic.
- Wet the layer of sodium peroxide powder. There are 2 ways to do this.
- Sprinkle the layer with mist of water. You can use a spray bottle for this. Remember to do this carefully. Sodium peroxide is toxic.
- Apply a bandage saturated with water on the layer.
- Let it sit for a few minutes and then rinse the surface thoroughly with clean water. It is very important that you do this thoroughly. If not, the acid used for the blood stain removal can still continue to etch through the concrete if it remains on the surface.
- Scrub the surface vigorously using a stiff bristle brush.
- Brush the surface with vinegar to neutralize any remaining sodium peroxide.
- Rinse again thoroughly with clear, clean water.
Tips
- Deal with the stain right away.
- Instead of sodium peroxide, you can use hydrogen peroxide or trisodium phosphate instead. But they may not work be as effective as sodium peroxide. If you use hydrogen peroxide, vinegar neutralization is not longer necessary.
- Since you will be dealing with chemicals, it is advisable to have antidote and accident treatment chemicals readily available.
Warnings
- There should be sufficient ventilation wherever you are working.
- Do not save unused portions of the stain-removal chemicals.
- Do not store any chemicals in unmarked containers.
Things You'll Need
- Sodium peroxide
- Chemical protective gloves
- Mouth mask
- Safety glasses
- Protective clothing
- Bandage - optional
- Spray water bottle - optional
- Stiff bristle brush
