How to clean dry cement paticles of a patio

[rufus]

Hi

I've just recently laid down a DIY patio. I thought I had done a great job for what was my first attempt at this kind of thing, but unfortunately I added cement to the the sand before carrying out the dry sand jointing process.

Although I managed to brush of most of the cement off , some of it naturally got into the slabs and left a tinge of grey color on the slabs. (It kind of adds an ageing quality to the slabs!)

The slabs are still dry, is there any way I could remove this discoloring. (Vaccum it, wash it, lick it clean!)

What will happen when it rains and the slabs get wet. Will the tiny amounts of cement go runny and further discolor the slabs.

Help what should I do. I'm desperate for advice and reassurance. I put so much effort into this and did such a good job, but now I'm worried I've wrecked it due to a moment of foolishness.

[Tony McC]

If these are coloured concrete flags, it's probably best to aloow the weather to do its worst. In 12 months time you'll never know they was a light cement bhaze on the surface. The usual rememdy for cement staining is to use an acid wash but the acid often reacts with the pigments used to colour the flags and then goes all weird.

With some stone flags, the acid-based cleaners are safe enough, but some of the lighter-coloured imported sandstones can have a severe and very, VERY distressing reaction to acid cleaning, so again, it's best to leave well alone.