This past October I left our pumpkin outside on our front porch long past its expiration date. It wasn’t carved; and from first appearances, it looked completely fine. However, underneath, it was rotting away and leaving a gross gooey mess, which stained our concrete stoop. Gross! Now, I could have used some harsh chemical cleaner to clean our front porch, but one thing I’m trying to do is to use more natural products around our home, products that are environmentally friendly and safer for our pets and for us. After a little searching for natural concrete cleaners, I combined a few different recipes to create my own homemade concrete cleaner. It is powerful enough to scrub away dirt, grime, and pumpkin goo.
Supplies:
Warm Water
½ Cup Borax
½ Cup Washing Soda (Available at Walmart with the household goods or Amazon)
1 Tablespoon DawnLiquid Dish Soap (I recommend Dawn because it is safe around pets and cuts through any oils)
Bucket
Rubber Gloves
Steps:
1. Before cleaning concrete, sweep the concrete surface to remove any loose dirt or debris that may have collected.
2. For the homemade concrete cleaner mixture, fill a bucket with a gallon of warm water.
3. Add ½ cup Borax and ½ cup Washing Soda to bucket and stir together with a large spoon.
4. Add 1 tablespoon Dawn Liquid Dish Soap to the mixture and continue stirring until ingredients are well mixed. Your concrete cleaner is now ready!
5. Before you begin scrubbing your concrete surface, spray it down with water. If you have a pressure wash attachment for your hose, I would recommend using it. It will make the following steps much easier.
6. Put on rubber gloves to protect your hands and begin scrubbing. Don’t be afraid to put a little elbow grease into it. I was on my hands and knees scrubbing away. Begin scrubbing in one corner and work your way through the stain. Depending on how dirty your concrete is, you’ll have to scrub for a while to lift up the dirt and grim.
7. After the area has been scrubbed clean, hose down the concrete well. Let dry before styling.
Yes, this was a little labor intensive, but the end results made it worth the effort. Plus, I feel better knowing my homemade concrete cleaner will not harm the landscaping near my front steps.
Next up is to find some sturdy sun tolerant plants (to join my faux boxwood) to add to our front stoop. This area gets full sun for eight hours a day, and I do not have the best green thumb. Any suggestions?
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