How To Fix Efflorescence On Walls
Property owners and managers want to preserve the beauty and integrity of a home, apartment building or commercial property. Efflorescence can ravage brick exteriors and cause unsightly stains on interior walls. Learn how to fix efflorescence with these tips.
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How To Fix Efflorescence
How To Fix Efflorescence
The Cause
Bricks are joined with mortar and other binding materials that may contain calcium carbonate. When rainwater encounters these binding materials, acids and salts that are dissolved in the rainwater can liquefy the calcium carbonate and other materials.
Through gravity and capillary action, these dissolved minerals can then penetrate through brick materials to interior walls. When the water within this mineral-rich solution evaporates, it leaves behind salt deposits on brick exteriors and internal walls called efflorescence.
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How To Fix Efflorescence
How To Fix Efflorescence
The Effects
Efflorescence can cause:
- Physical damage to the structure
- Visually unappealing deposits on brick and interior walls
- A reduction in property value
The result is that the home, apartment building or commercial property’s condition and appearance can discourage potential sales or rentals of the property.
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How to Fix Efflorescence
How to Fix Efflorescence
Current Problems
To remove efflorescence already present on exterior brick, these are your options:
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Lightly pressure wash efflorescence on brick with approved commercial cleaning solutions
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If no pressure washer is available, use stiff brushes and efflorescent-cleaning products
Once every trace of efflorescence is removed, the exterior surface should be repaired and interior walls should be repainted.
Make sure that the original source of moisture is removed, if it is ground-based, or the same problem may reoccur.
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How to Fix Efflorescence
How to Fix Efflorescence
Efflorescence Prevention
While efflorescence is hazardous to the health of brick structures, it is also preventable. Builders who are constructing brick structures can begin the protective process by keeping their materials dry during wall-building.
Structures that builders have recently completed can be externally protected by hydrophobic, water-repellant sealants that penetrate deep within the porous structures of bricks and protect them, from the inside out.
Property owners and managers who take simple precautions and use the appropriate cleaning, remediation, and protective products can keep efflorescence on walls at bay, and their properties healthy.
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