Tips for Maintaining Your Concrete

Homes have many concrete fixtures and additions to them. Decks, porches and sidewalks are sometimes made from concrete. Some people also have concrete bird baths, pool decks and even some outside furniture that is made from concrete. These small touches can also be selling points for a home. For these reasons and more, we should take extra care in preserving these concrete items.

Most concrete is gray in color and not very decorative (on its own). Yet, you can change both the color and the appearance of concrete, with just a little bit of work.

But first lets look at some simple ways at keeping concrete clean.

Concrete can become dirty and it can also become mildewed and stained over time (like most things). A good cleaning can make concrete look brand new again. You can buy many ready made cleaners that were intended for cleaning concrete such as Thompson’s Water Seal Concrete Cleaner & Degreaser. This works a lot like a deck cleaner does. Apply the cleaner and then allow it to sit for about 10 to 15 minutes. Then take a stiff bristled brush and lightly brush over the concrete. Rinse with a garden hose. You may have to repeat in areas that are heavily stained. If this doesn’t work, you can try using a pressure washer instead of a hose for rinsing. Be sure to start the pressure washer in its lowest position spraying position first.

Water proof your concrete:

Concrete is usually what they refer to as porous material. This means that water can cause problems to it. Excess water can cause concrete to crack and chip. Some additives in de-icy salts and pool chemicals can also cause concrete to crack. For these reasons it wouldn’t hurt to use a clear water-proof stain on your concrete to help protect it. One really good water sealer is Thompson’s Water Seal Concrete Care Sealer. You can apply this with a brush, roller or pump up sprayer. One coat is all you need and will not usually change the color of the concrete any.

Patching your concrete:

Sometimes no matter how hard you try to maintain your concrete, small patches may still form. When this happens, you can patch them with a caulk designed for concrete. If you have a lot of broken areas or if the broken areas are larger, than you may have to use a compound to patch the areas.

Of course, if the area is severely broken, then you may have to resurface the entire area. This is a lot easier and cheaper that tearing out the entire area.

Decorating your concrete

Some people like to do what is refer to as ‘stamping’ their own imprints in their concrete. You can do this by taking a simple object like a seashell, rocks, or you can even buy stamping objects at your local hardware store. Most people will take a corner of a deck and while the concrete is still wet use the stamp object to imprint a design of their own. Sometimes people will take a stick also and write a date, initials or names in the concrete, too.

Adding color to your concrete

While you are pouring new concrete, you can add powdered pigments added to the concrete mixtures and then mixed throughout the concrete for color. You can also have colored dust added to the top of the concrete as it starts to hardened. A trowel is used to layer this dust. Both of these methods will give you a permanent color.

By taking a little extra care, your concrete can last for years longer. This will save you time and money in the long run.