# Cleaning Old Seiryu Stones



## theatermusic87 (Jun 22, 2014)

You could always try a pressure washer (depending on the size of the stones), or if they are smaller you could try the dishwasher...


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## Armonious (Aug 16, 2010)

Pressure washer may work! (as long as I get access to one before it freezes around here)

I feel like I gave them a better scrubbing than the dishwasher would provide, but that could be worth a shot as well.

Thanks for the ideas!


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I have not dealt with those stones, however I have seen them after a heavy bleach soak and it did not come out well. It removed a lot of the color and left them totally changed. I can't say if they react like wood and return to the former color or not. Just a posting here on the former where it was shocking how much they lost. 
Maybe a quicker bleach dip that is not as strong? A couple tablespoons in a gallon and only left for 5 minutes? That would be a bump up in strength from the normal drinking water but not be as likely to remove color. I find that color in rocks is often not really the rock but what has collected on the surface so it might be wise to try a toothbrush to brush on some bleach water in a small spot to see first what you get before committing the whole rock. 

For those times when I want something really strong like muriatic, I now use a far safer item called "Acid Magic". There may be other brands but this is one I find in pool and spa supply stores for around $10 a gallon. It has the big advantage of being relatively safe to use without the potential to burn skin and far less fumes. I find it really speeds up removing hard water deposits but I don't recommend it to everybody as it has some built-in downsides. Like it is really hard to avoid dips in PH even after good rinsing. I do an extra step of a soda rinse after using the acid because that does neutralize it. 

Vinegar first as cheap and safe. Weak bleach second and peroxide third? I would save the Acid for extremes. Most of my rocks are limestone and I just bleach the tar out of them !!!


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## co2short (Jan 20, 2016)

Ok so have gone through the trial and error of purchasing stone. I first purchased slate and thought i wanted to go with a cliff hardscape. The slate came clean and new. Then i was looking at ideas and fell in love with the sreiyu stone scapes. I got old dirty baaaaaaaaaaaaad looking stones that came from a seller on ebay. So i decided to try and wash them. . . No dice i tried to soak them. . No dice. So i ordered a new set from amazon and they were dirty really dirty i mean they are rock but just dirt and small pieces of stone. So i unpacked the stones in my kitchen and i got an idea. I decided to run my dishwasher through a whole cycle with NO soap. Then i added my new dirty stone and did the same. And boooom clean stones i mean reallly clean. I will now soak and test the stones but that was amazing. I joined this forum just to help others obsessing about how these guys on youtube find these stones that are just perfect. I hope this helps.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Yep,I use my dishwasher for cleaning everything in the tank... I even wash my smaller tanks in the dishwasher.
I do rinse it under the tap, the moment the washing cycle stops, just in case anything settled on it.


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## ckeep22 (Nov 25, 2015)

A good soak in apple cider vinegar should do the trick!


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