If you have left your wrought iron furniture out in the rain on a slate patio, then you are probably all too familiar with the rusty brown and red stains that form underneath wrought iron furniture after a rain. Do not use household bleach to try to remove them. This will set the stains and make them permanent. Instead, opt for wood bleach, also called oxalic acid, to get these stains off your beautiful slate patio. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Sweep the patio area clear. Small sticks, stones and other debris not only interfere with your cleaning efforts, they also can scrape up the slate when you start scrubbing it.
2. Mix up a cleaning solution. You should be wearing your gloves. Fill the bucket with 5 cups of hot water and 5 cups of vinegar. Vinegar will remove most rust stains.
3. Scrub the rust stains with the vinegar. As you scrub, rinse the area frequently to insure that you are getting the stains off the slate. This will also dilute the vinegar, the runoff of which can kill grass if it is not watered down.
4. Tackle tough spots with oxalic acid. This acid, also called wood bleach, comes in a powder that can be mixed with water. For these purposes, simply sprinkle a little of the powder on the rust, dampen your scrub brush and scrub. Be careful not to get the bleach on your skin or in your eyes. The oxalic acid will remove any remaining stains from the wrought iron furniture.
5. Rinse your slate patio thoroughly with the garden hose. Use plenty of water to insure that all of the cleaning agents are washed away and that you have removed all traces of the rust stains.
Tags: iron furniture, oxalic acid, wrought iron, wrought iron furniture, also called
