Stains from oil spillage, paints, and grease often look disgusting when they appear on your concrete driveway. 

• Unlike other types of surfaces, concrete floors present a big challenge when cleaning. Therefore, you require the best concrete driveway cleaner to remove the stains.

In this guide, I have featured the best cleaning agents to help you remove stubborn stains from your concrete driveway. Related: Best Trimmer Line.

Cleaners: 7 Best Concrete Driveway Cleaner 2023 

1. ACT Concrete Cleaner and Degreaser Garage Floor & Patio

This is a perfect cleaner for your concrete driveway, garage floor, and patio among other surfaces. 

It provides an easy way for removing minor as well as tough stains such as grease, oil, mold, gum, pet droppings, and many more. 

• It’s available in powder form and works through the bioremediation process.
• In this process, the microbial formulation breaks down the stain and absorbs the contaminants.

The end products of the process are water and carbon dioxide which are released into the air through evaporation. Thus, this is a nontoxic and eco-friendly way of removing stains from your floors.

One pound of this powder is enough to cover 100 square feet of your concrete floor. It easily penetrates into openings meaning you don’t have to scrub with a brush.

However, you will have to apply a number of times to remove stubborn stains. Traces of the stain will disappear completely after 15 to 30 days

• Unlike many bacterial cleaners, the effectiveness of this formulation will not be affected by temperatures.

Whether it’s cold or hot, you’ll get similar results. Plus it can be used to clean other surfaces like ceramics, plastics, metal, and wood among others.

2. Simple Green Oxy Solve Total Outdoor

With this cleaner, you will be able to clean your concrete driveway as well as furniture, asphalt, vehicles, sideways, fabrics, and many more. 

It’s a water-based cleaner containing power peroxide which is biodegradable and non-toxic. Thus, it won’t affect humans, animals, or the environment.

• In addition, it is not corrosive or abrasive meaning it won’t affect the surfaces it is used on.
• It’s formulated to remove tough stains such as grease, oil, and any other persistent stains on concrete surfaces.

One bottle of simple green makes about 11 gallons when mixed with water. This is enough to clean 6400 square feet when used with a pressure washer.

You can also use it on your patio to remove sap or mess left by some trees. The good thing with this formulation is that it won’t leave any residue on the surfaces.

What’s more, simple green is a powerful cleaner with quick and reliable results.

Related: Best Tiller for Breaking New Ground

3. All-Purpose Masonry & Concrete Cleaner 

Masonry and concrete cleaner will bring a whole new look to your stained concrete driveway, garage floor, sidewalks among other surfaces. 

It contains an oxygenated powdered concentrate which is powerful enough to remove stubborn stains such as oil, mildew, grease, mold, and so on.

To use this cleaner, you simply mix the powder with 6 gallons of water to make a cleaning solution.

• Use warm water if you want the powder to dissolve quickly. This amount is sufficient to clean 900 square feet of your driveway.
• When applied on surfaces, this solution loosens and lifts grime and dirt and allows easy removal with a pressure washing machine.

A garden hose can be used instead but it may not be very effective. Repeated application may be required for stubborn and persistent stains.

Once you apply the solution, you’re required to rinse the surface with a garden hose or pressure washer. You can also scrub the surface with a broom if necessary.

The ingredients used in this cleaner will neither wear out your surfaces nor affect the environment. They won’t also harm humans, animals, or plants.

4. Krud Kutter DC01 Clear Driveway Cleaner and Degreaser

You can’t go wrong with Krud Kutter if you want get rid of stubborn stains from your concrete driveway, asphalt among other surfaces. 

It’s formulated with “Oil Grabber”, a powerful ingredient for dissolving and removing tough stains such as grease, mildew, oil, mold, and many more.

It works by penetrating into the stain to break the bonds that hold the particles together.

• No mixing is required – You just pour some amount of Krud Kutter on the stain and scrub with a broom or stiff brush.
• Allow 5 to 10 minutes and scrub again. The residues are then removed by rinsing using a garden hose or power wash.

All the ingredients in this formulation are non-toxic and biodegradable. Therefore, you can use it without worrying about your family, animals, or the environment.

Also, the lack of ammonia, bleaching agents, or petroleum solvents makes it ideal for almost any type of surface.

5. Eco-Etch Pro Concrete Etcher 

This is a water-based formulation suitable for cleaning and removing stains from concrete surfaces, masonry works, and mortar joints, and so on. 

It contains biodegradable, non-toxic, and non-corrosive ingredients giving you a natural way of cleaning your driveway.

It has an effective and deep cleaning action against most stubborn stains such as grease, oils, dirt among others.

When applied on a surface, it penetrates through the concrete and lifts up the stains for easy removal. Once you apply the solution on the surface, give it 10 to 15 minutes before brushing off the residue.

Eco-Etch Pro works instantly when it comes into contact with stains. Notably, it reacts with the concrete by characteristic foaming action.

For effective results, one container of this cleaner should be diluted with water to make 4 gallons of cleaning solution. This is enough to cover 200 square feet of your floor.

Eco-Etch Pro is safe to use around your home. It does not cause irritations, skin burns, or produce an awful odor.

6. EXIMO Waterless Concrete Cleaner 

Eximo utilizes a bioremediation process to get rid of stubborn stains from concrete driveways, sidewalks, asphalt, and other surfaces. 

 

In this process, hungry micro-organisms present in the powder feast on the stains giving your surfaces their original luster.

EXIMO concrete cleaner penetrates deeper compared to pressure washing techniques.

• These micro-organisms have the ability to break down hydrocarbon chains that make up stubborn stains like grease and oils.
• The end products of the bioremediation process are carbon dioxide and water which are not hazardous to the environment.

Unlike chemical cleaners or pressure washing, you don’t need any brushing to remove the stain.

All you have to do is sprinkle the powder on the stains and wait. However, you need to apply 2 to 4 times to attain good results.

EXIMO is safe to use around your home since it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals. What’s more, EXIMO is an excellent stain remover that requires patience for satisfactory results.

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7. TERMINATOR-HSD Top Driveway Cleaner

Cleaning ugly stains such as hydrocarbons will be a lot easier with TERMINATOR-HSD. 

It cleans the most stubborn stains on your drive including hydraulic oil, diesel, cooking oil, gasoline, and many more. 

It’s concentrated with billions of hungry micro-organisms which eat into the stains, turning them into water and carbon dioxide.

Thus, this is a non-chemical and environmentally-friendly substance for cleaning your concrete surfaces.

To use this cleaner, sprinkle a little powder over the stain. A small amount is just enough as long as it is in contact with the stain – Purifying Cement Concrete. 

Keep the stain a bit damp and at around 40 to 100°F. As days go by, the microbes will eat every bit of the stain leaving your floor clean and uniform. No scrubbing is required to remove the stain.

TERMINATOR-HSD works on both fresh and old stains. Some stains might require you to apply at least 1 to 4 times before they can vanish completely.

Since the microbes work in moist conditions, it is necessary to keep the stains damp for at least 3 days until the desired results are achieved.

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Best Concrete Driveway Cleaner – Buying Guide

Not all cleaning agents are ideal for cleaning concrete driveways. Unlike other types of floors, concrete contains small holes which conventional cleaners cannot penetrate.

• That’s why you require specialized cleaners meant to penetrate and lift the stains from the surfaces of concrete floors.
• There’re many concrete cleaners in the market to choose from. So, you may be lost in choice when searching for the best cleaner for your driveway.

But there are a few important factors you should consider before you make a decision.

1. Type of cleaner

Concrete cleaners can be categorized into two depending on their intended use. They can be either PH cleaners or bacterial cleaners.

a. Bacterial or Enzymatic Cleaners

Bacterial cleaners are recent entrants into the world of cleaning solutions. Also known as oxidation /enzymatic cleaners, these products make use of hungry micro-organisms which feed on a variety of stains.

Notably, bacterial cleaners will be the best choice for cleaning stains such as grease, oil, and another type of hydrocarbons.

Unlike other types of cleaners, bacterial cleaners leave little or no residue on surfaces. Thus, no brushing or further cleaning is required.

The only limitation is that they require repeated use for them to be effective. Also, the cleaning action takes some time compared to the PH cleaners.

b. PH Cleaners

PH cleaners can either be acidic, neutral, or alkaline.

Acidic cleaners are used to remove stains that dissolve in acidic solutions.

• For example, the efflorescence caused by hard water can be cleaned using acidic cleaners.
• Alkaline solutions are ideal for cleaning stubborn stains such as grease and oil.

The hydrocarbon chains in these substances are broken down to allow for easy removal with a brush or pressure washing.

Neutral PH cleaners are mostly used where the stain is not embedded on the surface.

2. Type of Use

You might have cleaning difficulties in your concrete driveway as well as other places like the kitchen floor, patio among others.

So, it might do you good to go for a product that will get rid of stains from most of your surfaces.

Luckily, most of the products in the market are designed for cleaning a number of surfaces. They often come with a list of surfaces they can clean or labels such as “multipurpose”.

3. Safety

The safety of your family and animals comes first when choosing the right cleaning agents.

• Most of the concrete cleaners in the market conform to the safety standards for human handling.
• If there’s a possible risk such as skin or eye irritation, manufacturers usually indicate so on the label.

There’s also a current trend to manufacture products that do no or little harm to the environment. So, it is important to go for cleaners that are safe for humans, animals, and the environment.

4. Quantity

The amount of cleaner you need for satisfactory results depends on the type of cleaner, type of stain, and the space you want to clean.

• Some cleaners require only a small amount of application while others require large amounts.

It will be of good benefit to buying enough for the current project and for future use.

If you have a large driveway, go for bulk packaging to save on the cost.

Conclusion

Although there’re plenty of concrete driveway cleaners in the market, not all of them will do as they claim.

• However, the above list contains some of the popular brands in the market.

So, depending on your preferences and budget you can choose any of these products to help you bring a new look to your concrete driveway.