What Causes Rust Stains On My Sidewalk?
Does your sidewalk have rust stains? Have you tried pressure washing and cleaning the surface, hoping the stains would disappear?
Maybe you even bought a pressure washer, spent the time, and invested the effort—only to watch the rust come back again within months. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
Does this all sound familiar?
It should. We talk with property owners and managers every day who’ve had the same experience. So, who—or what—is to blame?
It’s usually a combination of your sprinkler system and your water quality In Florida, iron is found in many water sources. You might not notice it if you have a water softener inside your home. But that softener doesn’t treat the water going into your sprinkler system. That’s where the problem starts.
As your sprinkler runs day after day, the iron in the water gradually stains your sidewalk. The more it runs, the bigger and darker the stains become. They don’t just go away on their own, and they won’t stay gone with a surface-level solution.
Does pressure washing and cleaning help?
Pressure washing and cleaning might help for a short time. It can make things look better, temporarily. But it doesn’t treat the real cause of the problem. Many of our clients call us asking if they should try pressure washing and cleaning the rust away. The truth is, it will remove the surface stain—but not the iron in your water. That means the rust will return, and the cycle begins again. That’s why we take a different approach.
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How can Rustoff provide permanent rust removal on my sidewalk?
We treat your water and its source. Before the water goes into your irrigation system it must pass through our mechanism that we install on your water system. We have developed a water treatment that we apply to water systems that removes the rust before it goes into the irrigation system. Our treatment mechanism is installed on your water system for full time treatment.
Is Rustoff’s system a one time set it and forget type of system?
No, Rust-Off’s system isn’t a one-time solution. Because of the high iron content in Florida’s water, we return every 30 days to reapply the treatment. That keeps your water clean—and your sidewalk protected. Can you stretch the treatment to 60 days? Not really. We’ve tested it. Beyond 30 days, iron starts to creep back in, and the rust begins to form again. Concrete is porous. It absorbs fast. Consistent treatment is the only reliable long-term solution.
When it comes to maintaining your home or property, pressure washing and cleaning has its place—but it can’t replace preventative care. Rust-Off is here to help you protect your sidewalk the right way.
We understand it’s probably more fun to spend money on a vacation, however, if you value the look of your home and the surrounding area, hiring RustOff to treat your water system will be an investment into your property so you have more jingle in your pocket in the long run to take that memorable vacation.
We have several before and after photos on our website, we invite you to visit our site gallery and see for yourself the difference once the water is treated at the source:
https://rustoff.net/before-and-afters/
For more information on how we can help you remove the rust from your sidewalks, give us a call at 1-800-992-3111 or fill out the form on our website. We look forward to helping you have clean sidewalks again!