What is the best procedure to remove leached minerals from surface of newly laid brick?
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Go ahead and fill them if you are going to. Yes, wash with muratic and water. Rinse thoroughly. let dry before sealing. Take your time.
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It’s called "efflorescence." Fill it with concrete first then acid off the efflorescence and hose the whole thing off. Wait for a bit so that it can dry, then seal it.
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fill the cores and wait until everything is dry and there is no chance of anymore moisture coming through the brick , then clean…
edit: couldnt view your pics by the way…
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Check any decent brick manufacturer’s website and you should see they would say "do NOT use muriatic acid" !!!
Also, IF you ever use a muriatic acid or any cleaning solution on a "very porous"/very absorbant brick
especially if it is dry, that brick WILL absorb that acid solution right in ! and guess what, after you try to rinse off the cleaning solution the bricks will be wet again, and bring out more effloressence !
IF you ever use a cleaning solution on any brick, you must pre-wet the bricks, saturated with plain water so that the cleaning solution doesn’t get absorbed into the bricks, and stays on the surface where you want the cleaning solution to be to rub out the unwanted stuff. Rinsing afterwards is mandatory too so that the solution doesn’t start damaging the brick or the brick colour. Your bricks WILL get wet again and bring out effloressence.
There is no quick instant fix for effloressence off of newly laid bricks !
You will just have to have patience and let the effloressence come out in the following months. You could use a stiff nylon-bristle or wood-fibre brush and dry brush it off.
Also, sealers will not stop effloressence, as the effloressence process will simply lift off the sealer with it ! Its best to not seal the bricks, let them stay natural and breathable.
IF you or the owner persists insisting on putting a sealer on anyways, the brick must be absolutely totally dry. Keep in mind too, sealers don’t last forever, only a few years at most, and may change the look of the brick, especially if some parts’ sealer deteriorates sooner than other parts of the wall. Its still not good idea to seal the bricks.
That building supply place should learn right information before they tell people to damage the materials they just bought.
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