Brick Repair, Maintenance, and Cleaning.

What to do when your brick has problems

Crumbling Brick: In some cases, brick that is crumbling can be saved. It depends on the overall health of your brick wall. If the whole wall is crumbling, the problem is more related to the brick and how it was manufactured. If it is crumbling in specific areas, then the problem is most likely water problems. If this is the case, you may be able to use a brick sealer to prevent the crumbling from becoming more severe. This will maintain the brick for a while depending on the severity of the problem.

Dirty Brick: You can often clean brick relatively easily. In most cases, simple water and soap will remove most dirt. In other cases, you will need to use muratic acid and a broom with water. Muratic Acid is a very caustic chemical and should only be used by someone trained in its use.

Stained Brick: In most cases, stains can be removed from brick using Enduroseal's masonry cleaner. This will dilute the stain and remove most of it if not all of it. Several applications may be required.

Efflorescence: This is a salty material on the brick usually the result of water damage. You can clean this using an industrial cleaner like those supplied by Enduroseal. This substance is difficult to remove with plain water and soap and will require some scrapping and a wire brush along with brick cleaners.

Pointing Mortar: Pointing mortar simply means to add some mortar to a mortar line and then trace back across it with either your finger or a pointing tool to smooth it back into the brick at the mortar line producing a nice mortar line. In some cases, mortar will crack out of the mortar line and need replacement. You should clean the mortar area to be replaced, the replace the mortar, point it up, and then use a masonry sealer.