How to Clean a Cement Mixer

Here is a sure method of cleaning a cement mixer drum that is really caked in cement and makes it almost unusable. The following procedure may burn the paint off the exterior of the drum. But hey, it isn’t any use in the state it’s in now, right?

Steps

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    Remove the drum from the mixer. This is usually done by turning the drum in the opposite direction to that of its normal rotation.
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    Place the drum on its side and put some firewood and paper into the drum and set alight. The drum needs to be on it’s side so it can draw in air. If the drum is upright, it will not and the fire will go out.
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    Once lit, keep burning for approximately 1 hour. You can use a little coal to increase the heat and keep the fire in. After approximately 1 hour the drum will be EXTREMELY HOT. (take care when handling!)
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    Cool the outside of the mixer drum with cold water. (Do not wet the inside of the drum)
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    Empty the drum of burnt coal & or ash.
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    Replace cooled drum back on the mixer. (Remember to grease the spigot)
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    Use a claw hammer or small chisel to chip away the old cement. This will take a little while depending upon how badly the drum was coated with old cement.
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    Avoid banging the outside of the drum, as this could dent and damage it.
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    When the worst of the cement has been loosened, tip it out into a wheelbarrow.
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    Pour some water in the drum along with some old bricks or rubble and leave turning for about 30 minutes. You can tilt the drum a little so that the rubble scrapes the upper edges of the drum.
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    Empty the drum of rubble and water.
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    You should now have a clean cement mixer ready for work again.
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About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 11 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 50,488 times.
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Co-authors: 11
Updated: May 10, 2021
Views: 50,488
Categories: Working with Concrete and Cement
Article SummaryX

To clean a cement mixer, first you'll need to remove the drum from the mixer and fill it with firewood and paper. Then, light a fire in the drum and keep it burning for about an hour. After an hour, cool off the outside of the drum with cold water and dump out all of the burnt ash. Place it back on the mixer and use a claw hammer or small chisel to chip off any old cement on the inside. Dump out any loose pieces, then fill the drum with water and some old rubble and let it turn for 30 minutes. Finally, empty out the drum. For step-by-step instructions with pictures, check out the full article below!

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