Best way to remove this stain ? Indian Sandstone

[MissBuilding1975]

Hi all,

2 months ago had my Indian sandstone laid in my garden, though this morning found a bird poop which seems to have dried I then clean it off with a brush and hose through a green mark remanence has been left on my sandstone, very sad about this.

It's relatively a new Indian sandstone patio. To my understanding I was informed that I should only start sealing the patio after 6 to 8 months to protect it but to also reduce the risk of permanent stains on my patio, ideally making it easier to maintain year by year if I used a resin sealer after 8 to 10 months.

to wait for the natural salts to come out? to prevent white blotches to show under the sealer.

I have yet sealed my patio yet and have found that I can use a wet sealer instead for the time being?

What are your thoughts on this and maintenance please and how can I get this green poop stain out of this stone please ? are there any chemicals/products? or home remedies etc...pressure wash? pictures of the stain are below.

Thank you to all who reply in advance.

Thank you to all who reply in advance.

 

[r896neo]

It is the berries birds eat and berry stains can be very hard to shift. Dampedn the surface and then pour on a mix of 3:1 water:bleach with a dash of shampoo. Let it sit for 10 mins and then lightly scrub it and then after another 10 mins wash it off. keep it moistened the whole time, i.e mist it to stop it drying out.

good step by step info on various stains here http://www.pavingexpert.com/stains.htm

 

[MissBuilding1975]

@r896neo thanks for your advice, you mention bleach? normal toilet bleach or another sort higher concentration? right now I have just moistened it with a damp cloth till the morning. Till I try to get this stain out.

And shampoo, on the link it mentions baby shampoo. that ok ?

Thank so much for your advice.

 

[RayCaister]

Why not try Vanish ... http://www.vanish.co.uk/products/discolorating-sheets/vanish-oxi-action-2-in-1-magnets/ Removes stains but not a bleach.

 

[r896neo]

Baby shampoo is great. I use sodium hypochlorite as suggested in the link but I buy it in 5 ltr containers. Its not expensive at maybe £25 for 5 ltrs and mixed from 3:1 up to 8:1 its a very effective general paving cleaner so worthwhile getting for future maintanance if you have room to store it. If not then use household bleach but make it stronger.

sodium hypo is around 15% so check your bleach and figure out the strength, it should be printed somewhere as a percentage and likely around 5%. Adjust the ratio accordingly to get a comparative strength.

With any paving you should always test cleaners on an inconspicuous area first but i have nevere seen or heard of bleach damaging any type of stone paving and i and others have used it extensively.

 

[r896neo]

Vanish may work, certainly an intruiging idea. Have you used it on paving Ray?

 

[RayCaister]

I successfully used on on concrete gravel boards to remove stain.