Efflourescent on Brick

Mark Dadian

Mark Dadian

New Member
Looking for opinions on this topic.

I talked with a man who has been in the brick business 20 years. When I asked him what I should wash Eff with, he replied, "Scrub it with a bruch and leave it alone. If you add water to it you'll just bring back the eff 10 times worse than it currently is."

He went on to say that it mostly appears on new work or tuck pointing, and in about 18 mos it should resolve itself. I almost argued this point when I realized that one of my potential projects is over 50 years old, but then remembered that where the eff is coming out is where the brick has just been recently exposed to the elements.

Soooo... what do you think?
 
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Dan Flynn

PWN Founder
He sounds like he really doesn't know. I use to have a web address to a site all about brick. I forgot what it is. Maybe someone else can remember it. They cover this topic.
 
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melsmobile

New Member
MARK,

I CLEAN PREFAB BRICK FENACE FOR A CO. THE FENCES ARE 300 TO 1,200 FT LONG AND 10 FT HIGH , I USE HYDROCLORIC ACID THE SWIMMING POOL ACID YOU KNOW THE KIND YOU GET AT HOME DEPOT, I USE AN INJECTOR ON THE END OF MY LANCE AND PUT THE CHEMICAL TUBE IN THE ONE GALLON JUG I SPACE THE JUGS OUT ABOUT EVERY 50 FT BEFORE I START.

BUT IF THE BRICK IS 50 YEARS OLD I WOULD USE (SURKLEEN 600)
IT HAS A BUFFER IN IT THAT WILL NOT BURN OLD BRICK. OR SOME THING LIKE IT!
 
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the_GUNN_man

New Member
My experiences with "eff" is that it mostly occurs after a new building has been built. I used to be a brick layer and now most of my p/w work is new masonry. If eff still appears after a couple of years then it is most likely from poor workmanship. There is water getting in behind the brick somewhere. The eff you see is the water coming through the brick and bringing the impurities from the brick with it, mostly salt. You see a lot of it happening the worst in the winter. The freezing weather brings it to the surface too. I would not suggest reusng acid on it. That can just make it worse. Sometimes it will just wash off in the rain but then returns from time to time. I know a lot of people try to blame the brick washer but seldom is it your fault. Most of the times it is problems with the flashing along the roof letting water in. Sometimes it is about impossible to determine the source. I always make sure I tell people about the possibilities of it so they are not surprised if it happens. Look at it like this. If someone lays new floors in your house and the floors get warped and rot do you blame the people who laid the floor? Then you come to find out it was a leaky pipe that caused the damage. So do you blame the plumber? Then you find out the guy installing the furnace bent a pipe causing it to leak. My point is sometimes it can be a series of events or something beyond your control causing it.
 
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Bill B

New Member
I clean a lot of brick, and get asked to remove effloresence several times a year. When there is not a significant amount to remove, I will brush with a strong bristle brush then wash off with low pressure. Perform successfully until it disappears.

Three weeks ago I encountered a badly eff'd home and pressure washed those spots (not my preferred method) because doing by hand would have been cost prohibitive. Went by job last week and it looked ok. If it had returned I would have repeated, or used manual approach, depending on whether concentration had dissipated.

Last option for me is to use acidic material to help solubilize calcium salts, but only do this 10-20% of the time.

Source of eff is typically calcium salts dissolved in water that appear on wall as solution migrates to surface; water evaporates leaving the residue. Salts usually are picked up by bricks laying on the ground, etc. If problem persists after repeated treatments, and over a long period of time, then it is probable that poor construction is at play. First step would be to get rid of source of water infiltration. Good luck
 
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