Sodium Hydroxide

I have several gasoline concrete pads and sidewalks to clean next week.

Adjoining the sidewalks and drive up gasoline pads is asphalt.

Is there any precautions I need to take as far as this agent contacting the asphalt? Should I use cold or hot water? Dwell time...?

Thanks,

Mike
 
Whenever using a Sodium Hydroxide based product like a strong Degreaser you should always keep the asphalt wet at all times but if the asphalt has good or new sealcoat (looks like it was painted black instead of being all grey colored) then I am not sure that I would use any strong degreaser close to the sealcoat.

The degreaser can strip the sealcoat off the asphalt along with leaving permanent streaks in the asphalt which can end up causting you some serious money if they make you pay for the damage which is likely as more and more customers are tired of shoddy contractor work being done and generally getting ripped off along with possible bad publicity on tv (local tv stations are airing customer's problem's with businesses to help remedy the situation and they have follow ups to see what is being done). Using pressure and/or heat also will remove the sealcoat, it is just a thin layer of emulsion to help protect and water-proof the asphalt to help it last longer, it is not as strong physically as the asphalt itself.
 
Thank guys. So the hydroxide should be thinly applied maybe to the bad oil spots only?
The hot 200 deg. water will contact the asphalt as it runs off the pad too which could be a problem. I need to get the oil stains down and the gum removed which will require heat. Looks like a challenge no matter how I attack it...
 
Is there new sealcoat on the asphalt?
 
Just spot treat it, then use a weak degreaser on the majority of it. DS will also help get it weak so trial and error for the first one. I did a job sometime back and didnt use any chems just high heat. and had to reseal coat about 5gal worth. I didnt ask questions I just did it because my name was on the line. after i sealcoated all the damaged area i let him know who cuts their grass and if they had a roundup spill. I was off the hook after that they had spilled about 5-8 gal of herbicide (concentrate)on the pump island. and it ran down to the street. A good friend had told me about this happening to him about 1mo. prior to this. so i already knew. hes a landscaper too. good luck and just rinse,rinse rinse
 
Just spot treat it, then use a weak degreaser on the majority of it. DS will also help get it weak so trial and error for the first one. I did a job sometime back and didnt use any chems just high heat. and had to reseal coat about 5gal worth. I didnt ask questions I just did it because my name was on the line. after i sealcoated all the damaged area i let him know who cuts their grass and if they had a roundup spill. I was off the hook after that they had spilled about 5-8 gal of herbicide (concentrate)on the pump island. and it ran down to the street. A good friend had told me about this happening to him about 1mo. prior to this. so i already knew. hes a landscaper too. good luck and just rinse,rinse rinse

Yes, rinse, rinse, rinse.:idea: Christopher made a good point to me about having another cold water hose running close by on the slab to cool down the hot water and run the cold into the runoff stream before it goes onto the asphalt. A great tip I must say!
 
Well down here you can fry an egg on sealcoating on a hot summer day, so i would think heat wont be that big of an issure but i could be wrong.
 
The amount of caustic you need compared to the amount of water you flow is not going to be a big deal. I like to put soap on straight and use less. I dont think runoff will do anything no mater how hot it is like Flojo said, you can blacken a salmon on the asphalt here!
 
Well down here you can fry an egg on sealcoating on a hot summer day, so i would think heat wont be that big of an issure but i could be wrong.

Interesting. But hot water and radiant heat might be two different aspects to asphalt since it's a petroleum based product? I would think 200 + degree water would break it down.
 
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