When we get calls for pressure washing the “white stains” on buildings, it’s important to know what they really are.
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There are different kinds of white stains and they take different procedures to clean. Trying the wrong procedure will not only waste time and money, but it can make things worse.
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Efflorescence is one of the causes of white stains on brick and concrete.
Wikipedia says, “Efflorescence can often be removed using phosphoric acid.” The operative statement in that sentence is “can often” – it doesn’t say “will always”.
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And it doesn’t mention that using the wrong materials or procedures can damage the appearance of the surface.
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You need to be extra careful on colored brick or concrete so you don’t permanently lighten the color and end up with a bigger problem than you had.
One client called us to clean what they thought was efflorescence on the brick of their house. When our manager arrived to give them a free estimate, he knew immediately it wasn’t efflorescence.
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The house was in a rural area by Chatfield Reservoir and they watered their lawn with well water. Their sprinklers sprayed the house and the calcium in their water remained after the water dried.
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It takes completely different materials and procedures to remove calcium than it does for efflorescence.
And its the knowledge gained from 26 years experience that allows us to determine the right way to clean each unique situation.
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Sometimes pressure washing is all that’s needed. But we’ve seen instances where someone used too much pressure trying to blast things off and damaged the surface.
Pressure washers can cut concrete if you’re not careful!
Make sure you’re using the right materials and procedures for the stain you have.
Call a pressure washing company with the stain removal experience to know the difference.
Related pages and articles
- Building Pressure Washing
- Denver Pressure Washing
- How Our Pressure Washing Experience Saved The Broadmoor’s Colored Sidewalks
- Pressure Washing The Efflorescence – That Wasn’t
- Pressure Washing Smoke Damage In A Parking Garage – Video
- Construction Pressure Washing On A Tight Schedule – Video
