How to Remove Food and Drink Stains From External Stone
Various foods can leave oil or grease stains. Many foods and drinks will leave sugar and / or coloured stains as well. Children dropping pizza or adults spilling red wine are classic examples.... Let's be honest, it's the adults who make most of the mess...!
The following suggestions are based on many years of experience and are successful in more than 90% of cases.
Make sure you follow the instructions available on the 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. If you use a pressure washer please read our guide first by clicking here.
Food and Drink Stain Removal.
1. In almost all cases of food and drink staining, Powerase is the first product to try.
- You can use Powerase diluted 1:3 with water to help remove most oil, grease and unidentified food staining. It is useful for sugary drinks as well.
- You will need to scrub gently with brushes, nylon pads or machinery (on larger areas). You will see our recommended tools and equipment on the Product Pages.
- Allow a contact time of approximately 10 minutes. Scrub a few times during this time.
- Keep the stone 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.
- 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.
You will find further instructions for using Powerase on the product page - please do read them.
2. If coloured stains remain after using Powerase you can use Biorase to remove them.
- Read the full instructions for Biorase here. Pay attention to the Safety Directions and First Aid sections.
- Damp the area to be treated with clean water. No puddles, just damp stone. This is done so that the product remains on the surface, where it can work on the stain, rather than soaking in.
- Use enough Biorase to wet the surface of the stone and stain.
- Leave in contact for between 10 minutes and 1 hour and monitor for the stain fading.
- It is best to avoid very hot times of day so that the product does not evaporate too quickly.
- Rinse with plenty of clean water when finished (or after 1 hour maximum).
- You can repeat if necessary.
- Note that this product will remove coloured, organic stains and not oil or grease or other solids.
Please Contact Us if you are struggling or need more assistance.
Refer to full product guides and safety data on the product pages.
You need some knowledge to understand how to use a pressure washer in order to acheive the best results and avoid potentially serious damage.
Please read this article for guidance.
Don’t want to Do-It-Yourself? We can do the work for you or put you in touch with a contractor
Ask us a question or send us a picture of the problem and we will give you the benefit of 30 years of experience