"Anonymous One" wrote in message
...
My wife and I have a very unusual situation. A plastic bottle of a
"Cactus Food" tipped over and sat in the solution for a day or so. It
is a slightly low spot of our concrete patio so it did not evaporate as
quickly as it might have on an area that did not "pond." The solution
is comprised of the following ingredients:

1.0% Nitrate Nitrogen
7% Available Phosphate (P 2 0 5)
6.0% Soluble Potash (K20)
1.0% Calcium

Derived from: Ammonium Nitrate, Calcium Nitrate, and Potassium
Phosphate.


What has happened is that it has stained our concrete patio, and where
the bottle had layed down, it has etched a groove in the surface of
about 1/2" or so. When we called the company they took no
responsibility, in fact they were rude, saying that this had never
happened before and it was impossible. My wife talked with someone in a
concrete manufacturing company who said this type of solution could
damage concrete. I did not know where to turn so I am curious about
what you folks in the chemistry community might think of this. Also, it
is odd. Since this has happened, every morning the area where the
spilled occurred appears wet, even though it is not currently raining.
It almost looks like moisture is being leeched out of the air and drawn
towards this spot? The person in the company did tell my wife to drench
the area with bleach, but that did not help at all. Any idea,
suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. We do not even know who
to ask to help us as we do not want the concrete to degrade now that it
has been deeply etched. Thanks in advance for any help you folks can
offer.

Surely you lead a sheltered, cosseted, pussy-whipped and protected life if a
stain on your concrete patio classifies as an "Emergency"!!