Cleaning river rock fireplace

Posted by nicole21 on September 8, 2008, 11:46 am

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I have a river rock fireplace that is about 2 years old. I would like to
clean it prior to sealing it, as some of the rocks have discolored. I
collected these rocks myself. Any feed bacl on how to clean the stones
without damaging?

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Posted by hawgeye on September 8, 2008, 6:51 pm

> I have a river rock fireplace that is about 2 years old. I would like to
> clean it prior to sealing it, as some of the rocks have discolored. I
> collected these rocks myself. Any feed bacl on how to clean the stones
> without damaging?

I won't ask why you waited 2 years to seal it. If you think sealing it will
stop discoloration, then you're wasting your time and money. In time the
sealer will discolor.

There are stone and masonry cleaners on the market, but I've found that
simple green works well for cleaning dirt, soot, smoke, etc. If you want to
restore the natural color of the rock, try a solution of bleach and water.
This will also change the color of any grout/mortar.

Either way, you need avoid getting the cleaners on metal, painted surfaces,
flooring, etc.

Posted by Bill on September 8, 2008, 7:30 pm

Put them back in the River??

> -------------------------------------
> I have a river rock fireplace that is about 2 years old. I would like to
> clean it prior to sealing it, as some of the rocks have discolored. I
> collected these rocks myself. Any feed bacl on how to clean the stones
> without damaging?
> ##-----------------------------------------------##
> Delivered via http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
> Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
> Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
> alt.building.construction - 14484 messages and counting!
> ##-----------------------------------------------##
>

Posted by ransley on September 9, 2008, 8:16 pm

On Sep 8, 10:46=A0am, nicolem.cook_at_yahoo_dot_...@foo.com (nicole21)
wrote:

> -------------------------------------
> I have a river rock fireplace that is about 2 years old. =A0I would like =

> clean it prior to sealing it, as some of the rocks have discolored. =A0I
> collected these rocks myself. =A0Any feed bacl on how to clean the stones
> without damaging?
> ##-----------------------------------------------##
> Delivered via =A0http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
> Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
> Web and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
> alt.building.construction - 14484 messages and counting!
> ##-----------------------------------------------##

seal it for what, termites?. To get it like new Muriatic acid, mixed
mild with rags around. I did it and had no damage to walls and oak
floor. Or get a brush and cleaner and scrub, a strong TSP mix works.

Posted by James on September 20, 2008, 6:03 am

what is TSP ???

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