jane wrote:
On Wed, 16 Mar 2005 18:53:00 -0000, "David"

wrote:

~
~ http://www.scottsukonline.com/produc...gcomplete.html
~
~
~
~The guy at Scotts told me to apply vinegar, I have tried this and
I
can not ~see really any difference.
~
~How long would it take for the stains to go on their own. - It is
terrible ~looking at the minute.
~
~I was wondering about power hosing ?
~
~David
~
~
I use lemon juice to remove iron stains in the kitchen on on
clothes.
It works best with direct sunlight so pick a sunny day. It takes
quite
a while to work, but does in the end. I managed to salvage a white
t-shirt which had got rust stained.

I don't know if it works on stone, but I can tell you it works on
melamine worktops too as I once put a pair of scissors down which
got
wet from the sink splashes and stained the surface. I tried
everything
I could think of, bleach, vanish, laundry detergent, stain devils,
put
up with the stain for some months and then read about lemon juice.
An
hour later, no stain.

Lime-scale-removing lavatory cleaner is a wonder-drug! When we had a
bore-hole, the water stained everything with iron, and the loo
cleaner always took it off porcelain and plastics in seconds. A
little dab of the stuff will get a curry stain off your shirt (white
or coloured), too! But always be ready to rinse very well as soon as
the stain's gone: the active ingredient is hydrochloric acid.

I'd experiment on two tiny areas, one with the stuff neat, and one
with it diluted with two volumes of water. Use a scrubbing brush if
necessary, then hose down, also using the scrubbing brush. I wouldn't
worry if the result isn't as-new condition, as it'll probably look
better than before (if, like me, you find new concrete and limestone
a bit raw and regimental).

I doubt if power hosing will have much effect on its own, as the iron
oxides will be in the pores of the material.

--
Mike.