gum???

[clcare2]

I own a property management company and my power washer has said that he can't or won't get gum or what I think is gum , black and hard , it is about 1' in diameter and is very hard to scrape, off of the sidewalks of one of the buildings that I manage. The build-up is getting noticable. Price is not an issue they can afford what ever and just want it gone.

Are there any good ways to handle this?????

 

[Mark]

Steam or Hot High Pressure.

 

[TLC Sweeping]

Good Old Hot Water Washer and Med Pressure will get it up, there are no chems that work very well only Hot Water I do alot of shopping centers that are full of gum and the only way you can get it up is Hot Water, but becareful with to much pressure or you will damage the concrete.

 

[clcare2]

Are these easy to rent? I just looked at some prices and they are pretty steep.

 

[TLC Sweeping]

I have not rented a hot water unit so I don't know what they rent for, I have a big unit on a trailer and do this on many shopping centers. But as far as renting I don't know what they get for them.
I do know that a cold water unit is a waste of time and will only give you headaches lol and tear up the concrete.

 

[clcare2]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Mark]

The ANT3C Hydro Twister / Surface Cleaner has a gum blaster.
Hydro Tek Concrete Cleaner

YouTube - Gum Spot Remover

 

[clcare2]

Allright, I found a trailer size hot water power washer and am looking for a side walk cleaner.

This sidewalk is probably a 1/4 mile long and about 6 feet wide. There are hundreds of gum spots on the sidewalk from years of neglect. How long will it take me to do a gum spot.(will it come right off or will it have to be worked on for a while. )

I am just looking for an idea of how long my guys will be on the job.

 

[MR ALAN]

The older the gum the longer it will take. Fresh gum is almost instant and older can be 15 to 20 seconds. Do not be suprised if a shadow stain remains from the gum. That will fade in time from UV and regular maintenance.
Lowering the pressure is not a bad idea until you get the hang of it, otherwise you many damage the concrete.

 

[TLC Sweeping]

I just started a new store the other night the guy that was washing it really made a mess of it using a cold water washer and HIGH PRESSURE it cuts grooves in the surface trying to get gum and stains up. I used Hot Water and the difference is Amazing and it is clean now. I allways try to use the least amount of pressure as possible as not to damage the cream on the concrete and use hot water instead of pressure if I can. I took photo's of the before and after for marketing like I allways do

 

[Freakypapa]

I haven't tried it yet, but i bought a product from eacochem.com called safe restore that is reputed to melt gum pronto.

 

[TLC Sweeping]

Let me know if it works, so far nothing but heat takes it off for me.

 

[Freakypapa]

I always scrape the gum first, but sometimes even hot water won't work. The biggest problem i face is that even tho the gum looks gone when i leave the job, the spots blacken up again in a day or so. The pressure blast removal is very dangerous to the surface, does a turbo nozzle work substantially better without destroying the concrete surface?

 

[MR ALAN]

Scraping gum and or relying on a chemical to do the work of a hot water machine is not an efficient process.
Neglected gum will leave a shadow, but if you educate the customer then the shadows will be no problem at all. Repeated cleaning on a regular basis will prevent gum from leaving a shadow and eliminate the shadows from the neglect that was there before. UV and normal wear and tear will also help relieve the older shadows.
A turbo nozzle is a spinning 0° stream and can cause major damage in untrained hands. High heat and lower pressure via of a dual lance or a large tip will soften that old gum that seems to be petrified.
Surface cleaning small areas and then rinsing /popping gum is my favorite method for large neglected areas.