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Topic starter
30/08/2012 2:49 am
I am looking for an eco friendly solution to prep my new pressure treated wood fence. I have a pet, and my neighbor has several plants right beside the fence. For these reasons I don't want to use toxic cleaners and brighteners.
I know that sodium percarbonate is the probably least harmful cleaner (when used properly). However most brighteners have oxalic acid as main ingredient. Is there any alternative to oxalic acid that is more friendly to the environment? Since my fence is made of new lumber, I probably don't need the same whitening power as oxalic acid, I mainly need a product that will bring the pH to an acceptable level. I heard about citric acid, can it do the job? And what about vinegar?
30/08/2012 11:26 am
Vinegar would not work. Many brighteners contain a mixture of oxalic and citric acids. This makes it less aggressive to the plants. Citralic Wood Brightener is one of these products..
Topic starter
30/08/2012 2:52 pm
And what about pure citric acid (no oxalic)? If it is not as effective/fast as oxalic acid (or mixture of both acid), can we just wait a bit longer before rinsing?
Topic starter
02/09/2012 2:09 pm
I found Concrete Etch, a RustOleum product made of 100% citric acid. It is available at Home Depot in Canada, so it is most probably available in US too.
