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I had a new brick wall in the garden in the summer, it's about 18" high only, L-shaped rising on the 'foot' of the L to about 3 feet - it's a retaining wall for a sloping grass area and so will never be completely dry.
In the last couple of weeks - since we had some wet days a week or two back - there's a lot of white efflorescence coming out particularly in the mortar, in fact may be only the mortar but running onto the brick.
I've googled and it seems natural but then it varies about whether you should remove it or not, and if so how.
Any experts?
Many many years ago when I was an apprentice, I used brick acid mixed with water and a scrubbing brush to remove salts from freshly laid b/work. I am really not sure if this is how you would do it now?
Pretty normal for newly laid brickwork, you can rinse/scrub it off if it bothers you it'll stop coming out after 6-12 months tops.
yeah, just looks unsightly really as i was sat looking at it on this bonus summer day
Dry brush it off. Water causes it so don't introduce more 🙂
I was interested in the acid suggestions and looked a bit further. It seems that it depends on the type of salts,
"...soluble alkali salts, the salts will dissolve in water applied to the structure and migrate back into it. These salts would then reappear on the surface as the structure redried"
"Water, however, has been satisfactory for removing efflorescence from the face of brick buildings."
"If the coating is largely calcium carbonate or calcium sulfate, it adheres rather strongly and is difficult to remove by brushing alone. The practice developed in this case for brick and other masonry surfaces, has been to saturate the structure as thoroughly as possible with water, and then wash with diluted muriatic acid, followed immediately with an alkaline wash, then washed with water." NB "A great deal of care must be taken in applying acid to Portland cement products"
https://etbricks.co.uk/brick-articles/efflorescence-on-bricks-the-causes-prevention-and-cure/
Dry-brushing seems to be the first method to try (and the cheapest)
I had this on our extension. really bad and in one section running down the bi folds and leaving white residue.
limescale remover spray got it off the glass with no marks. I tested on a small part. Â
I left the brickwork. pretty much a year on its all gone through natural Weathering. no more salts are coming out so it's just a short term thing
scrubbing brush on order, will give a go with that (don't tell the wife, had a quick go with the nail brush we use for scrubbing new potatoes and it seems to remove the worst - but I'm not doing the whole wall with a nail brush)
Nail brush has been well rinsed since.....
Could it also just be salt getting washed out?
Just forget about it. Entire new house was covered in it for the first year, all over. Completely gone now after second year.
Hello,
Owner of a building firm here.
Leave the efflorescence if you can, it will wash out. Takes about four seasons depending on elevation.
Use acid with caution , it can permanently stain some bricks and the mortar.
If you want the brickwork to look cleaner just use a brush and brush it off.
Efflorescence is normally caused during brick storage, the bricks get saturated / wet so they need to dry out.
hope that helps. Ed.
cheers Ed - yep, will brush but then leave it. No plans for acid or owt like that.