Actichem Actisorb 350g

Product Overview

Actisorb is a neutral absorption powder with non-scratch abrasives, used in poultice form to draw stains out of porous surfaces — and as a mild abrasive booster for grout haze, wax residue and compacted soil.

It is a fine white to grey powder used in the cleaning and restoration of stone surfaces.

How a poultice actually works

Worth understanding, because it explains every instruction below.

An oil stain in porous stone is not on the surface — it has soaked in. No amount of surface cleaning reaches it. A poultice works in two stages: a solvent dissolves the stain within the stone, and then the absorbent powder draws the dissolved stain up and out as it dries.

Which means:

• The drying is the working part. A poultice that is rinsed off while still wet has dissolved the stain and left it where it was.
• Slower drying draws more out. That is why the instructions say to cover it — you are deliberately extending the working time, not protecting it.
• Thickness matters. A thin layer dries before it has drawn anything up.
• Deep stains may need more than one application. That is normal, not a failure.

Benefits

• Versatile — an inert, neutral powder that can be mixed with almost any cleaning liquid to form a poultice. Compatible with solvents and alkalis.
• Substrate safe — safe on all tile, stone, grout, masonry and cement, including sensitive polished granite, marble and limestone. The neutrality is the point: it carries whatever chemistry you choose without adding any of its own.
• Cleaning booster — the non-scratch abrasives add mechanical action for grout haze, porcelain wax removal and tough build-up.

Application areas and surface suitability

All man-made and natural stone, concrete, tiles and grout. Use it to lift deep-set stains and oils from fine stone and masonry.

How to Use

Read the safety data sheet before use. Always pre-test in an inconspicuous location for substrate sensitivity.

Actisorb is a fine powder — wear a dust mask. See the safety section.

Dilution

Not applicable. Actisorb can be mixed with almost any liquid to remove stains.

Poultice — for oil stains in stone and concrete

1. Mix Actisorb with POG to a toothpaste consistency.
2. Cover the stain with a 10 to 15 mm thick layer.
3. Allow to sit for a minimum of 2 hours or until dry. Cover with plastic or similar to keep it out of direct sunlight and prolong the drying time.
4. Rinse or brush away.

Read POG’s safety section before you use it here. POG is classified DANGER with H332, AUH019 and Poisons Schedule 6, and a poultice means it sits on a surface for hours, evaporating. Do this in a ventilated space, not in a closed room.

Scourer use — grout smear, cement residue, compacted grime

1. Mix Actisorb with a tile and grout cleaner to form a wet paste.
2. Scrub with a nylon pad.
3. Rinse well with water.

Alternative for larger areas: apply the cleaning solution to the floor, sprinkle Actisorb over it to form a slurry, agitate with a low-speed scrubber using a red pad or brush, then extract the slurry and rinse well.

Safety

This listing previously recorded “Safety: Non-hazardous”. That was wrong and has been corrected.

Actichem’s safety data sheet for AP151, version 2.3 issued 9 July 2025, classifies Actisorb as a hazardous chemical with the signal word WARNING.

• H319 — causes serious eye irritation
• AUH066 — repeated exposure may cause skin dryness or cracking
• No poisons schedule. Not a dangerous good.

In fairness to the product, this is a mild classification — two statements, no schedule, not a dangerous good, and it is chemically inert. It is one of the gentler things in our stone range. But it is not non-hazardous, and there is one aspect that deserves more attention than the classification suggests.

⚠ It is a fine powder — the dust is the real issue

The existing instruction to wear a dust mask was already on this page and it is the right advice. Worth expanding on why:

• H319 applies to dust in the eye just as much as to liquid. Sprinkling powder onto a floor at waist height puts it in the air at face height.
• Any fine airborne dust is a respiratory irritant, independent of what it is made of.
• The slurry method is the dustier one, because you are sprinkling loose powder over a wide area rather than mixing a small quantity into a paste. If you have a choice, mixing the paste in a container is both cleaner and safer.

A dust mask and eye protection while handling the dry powder. Once it is a paste, the dust issue is gone.

⚠ The chemistry it carries is the chemistry that matters

Actisorb is inert. The hazard on any given job comes from whatever you mix it with — and because a poultice sits on the surface for hours, the exposure period is far longer than a normal cleaning application.

Read the safety data sheet of the liquid you are mixing in, and treat the poultice as though that product is present the whole time it is drying. That is exactly what is happening.

First aid

Eyes. Rinse with water, holding the eyelids apart. Seek medical attention if irritation persists.

Skin. Wash with water. Repeated exposure dries the skin — wash and moisturise rather than letting it accumulate over a working week.

Specifications

Related Products

• Actichem POG — the citrus solvent used with Actisorb for oil stains in stone and concrete. Read its safety section — DANGER, H332, AUH019, Poisons Schedule 6.
• Actichem Tile & Grout Cream — for tile and grout cleaning tasks.

Safety Data Sheet

Actichem Actisorb safety data sheet (AP151, version 2.3, 9 July 2025)

SKU: AP151.005

Facing an oil stain in stone or concrete and not sure which liquid to poultice with? Send us a photo and tell us the substrate. Poulticing is one of the few genuinely effective ways to get a deep stain out of porous stone, and the choice of solvent is what determines whether it works.