Key Points
How hard is it to remove the white, powdery substance that appears on basement walls? Get the facts about what causes this efflorescence and how to remove it.
- Efflorescence is a white, powdery substance caused by mineral deposits left behind when water seeps through and evaporates from cement walls.
- Installing gutters and managing water runoff effectively can prevent future efflorescence.
- Avoid harsh chemicals like muriatic acid. Instead, use a solution of hot water and white vinegar. The acidity of vinegar breaks down and dissolves the salts, making it an eco-friendly and cost-effective method.
- Use a stiff wall brush to scrub off as much efflorescence as possible, then brush or sponge the vinegar solution onto the walls to remove the remaining deposits and leave the walls clean.
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Transcript
LESLIE: Alright. We’ve got Jerry in Massachusetts on the line who needs some help removing efflorescence from walls in the basement. What can we do for you?
JERRY: I’ve got some efflorescence on the cement walls in the basement. For years, I – when I built the house, I didn’t put gutters up; I had overhangs. And then it started developing. Somebody told me, “Hey, it’s because you don’t have any gutters.” So I put them up right away and it didn’t get any worse, but I’d like to clean that white efflorescence off. And I didn’t want to use muriatic acid.
TOM: No, you don’t need that at all. Removing efflorescence is really simple. First of all, the stains that you have, the efflorescence, is just lime. It’s mineral deposits that are left over when water comes through the wall and evaporates. So what you can simply do is brush that off as much as you can. You can use a stiff wall brush for that. And then just use water and white vinegar together for removing efflorescence from walls. Hot water and white vinegar. Vinegar will melt the salts.
JERRY: Do I have to rinse it down after?
TOM: No, only if you don’t want your house to smell like a salad. Aside from that…
JERRY: Well, I’m not worried about that. But white vinegar should do it.
TOM: Yeah, white vinegar does it. It’ll melt the salts. It’s a really good solution.
JERRY: I thought that, but I just wanted to check with you guys first.
TOM: You buy it by the gallon, you mix it with some hot water, and just, you know, brush it down.
JERRY: I’ll try that. Should work. Thank you very much.
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