Chalky residue...

[Printer Mike]

Just finished cleaning my 21 x 31 garage floor with BEHR Concrete & Masonry Cleaner/Etcher (NO. 991-N).

The floor is now dry, but there are places that look whiter and have a chalky acid smelling residue. Obviously, I didn't scrub hard enough during rinsing. I am wondering if anyone can advise me on my next best step.

Thanks...

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Just finished cleaning my 21 x 31 garage floor with BEHR Concrete & Masonry Cleaner/Etcher (NO. 991-N).

The floor is now dry, but there are places that look whiter and have a chalky acid smelling residue. Obviously, I didn't scrub hard enough during rinsing. I am wondering if anyone can advise me on my next best step.

Thanks...

Rinse several more times and check for issues.
If it is an acid based etch you may consider a few tablespoons of baking soda in your rinse water.

 

[kywildcat]

I had that issue a couple weeks ago when I did my floor........just keep rinsing, it will come up!!

 

[Designing Woman]

Hello Printer Mike. I recently came in contact with a similar situation and did some research. I ended up calling Behr Customer Service and found out that the white residue may be salt or efflorescence.

Try to clean up the sections where the appearance and smell residue are: spot clean with the cleaner/etcher (that will remove any leftover efflorescence) then double rinse. Allow to dry for a few more days. If the appearance and smell of those areas do not change, then the original concrete may have an acidic imbalance. Call Behr Customer Service @ 1-800-854-0133 for more help. (Our floor cleared up after the spot cleaning so we did not have to call for more help).

Best wishes.

 

[Printer Mike]

Thanks... will keep scrubing and rinsing...

 

[vtx531]

How is your water you are rinsing with?

 

[Printer Mike]

Regular county supplied. Guess it's the soft kind.

I started putting down a primer today. Looks good so far...

 

[Donald12]

I have same problem and called Behr. After long discussion, Behn technician said to use lots of water under pressure. If the garden hose with a nozzle does not work, I was told it might take pressure washing. Well, the house is getting pressure washed, so I asked them to try the garage, but the residue is still there. I expect to call them today or tomorrow and ask, what now? The painter of my house wants me to hire him to paint the floor, but I would rather not do that. Behr does say, if you paint over residue, the paint will not adhere well to the floor. I wonder if this is true?

 

[Edger]

I acid etched many large factory floors and went over with a power washer rotary head (like a lawnmower) which had very powerful jets and pump up to 8000psi.

I found anything above 3,000 psi removes the residue completely, but you must have the jets close to the floor. For that work we used to run it at about 4,000 psi.

I know that does not help you without the equipment, but it gives you an idea of what pressure washer power you need.

By the way, sometimes we moved the floor head across the floor too quickly and left white rings which we could not see until it dried when it was too late so we applied epoxy over them anyway. No adhesion problems occurred. That is not a guarantee though.