How to Remove General Dirt and Mud From Stone

Depending on the soil type in your area, mud can be problematic to remove from stone. This can depend upon the amount of very fine particles (possibly clay) in your soil that can become lodged in the surface of the stone. These particles cannot be dissolved in detergents and can be tricky to remove easily.

Make sure you follow the instructions product pages and Contact Us for help if you need it. Sending photographs helps us to give you the best guidance.

Do not use standard brick or patio cleaner as this is likely to contain hydrochloric acid which can be disastrous. Acids will not remove this type of staining in any case.

Pressure washing can be used but is not essential. Pressure washing can easily damage stone. In some cases, using a pressure washer can force mud and some dirt into the face of a stone rather than removing it. If you use a pressure washer please read our guide first by clicking here.

Mud and General Dirt Removal

It is sensible to try water and a brush or nylon pad in most cases because you will often be successful. Using running water from a hosepipe to rinse away dislodged dirt can help.

1. In almost all cases of general dirt and mud stains and marks, Powerase will help.

Use Powerase diluted 1:6 to 1:10 with water.
You will need to scrub gently with brushes, nylon pads. You will see our recommended tools and equipment on the Product Pages.
Allow a contact time of approximately 10 minutes. Scrub several times times during this period.
Keep the stone soaking wet with solution throughout the cleaning process. You will need to work in small areas and avoid hot dry weather in order to be able to keep the stone wet.
Be careful not to damage the stone by scrubbing too vigorously.
Rinse well.
We often find that using a wet vacuum cleaner (available at most builders tool hire shops) to remove dirty solution and rinsing water does a much better job than rinsing with a hose. This is because the machine draws the water up and out of the stone which takes the mud and dirt (which is in suspension in the water) with it.
ALWAYS do small test areas first.
Results can be mixed but you will not damage your stone using this method. Again, do not use any acidic cleaning products on limestone and never use hydrochloric acid based brick cleaners. Acidic products are no good for removing general dirt and mud in almost all cases.