# Cleaning newly laid brick



## rightit (Mar 5, 2011)

I removed my garage door, built a wall, installed a window and had brick laid. The brick was removed from another wall in my house and is original. As seen in the image, the newly bricked area has mortar residue. Further, since I failed to separate the corner bricks, the bricks used on the sill have a good deal of mortar on them.

The brick layer suggests a wire brush and an 'acid brush' and muratic acid (2 parts water, 1 part acid). Opinions on materials and method?

Thanks for any input.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

You can try muriatic acid and a stiff brush, along with a pressure washer.

That's what most of the guys that clean the brick in new construction use.


Gloves, eye protection, and such for sure....


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## cleveman (Dec 17, 2011)

Looks great.

Start out with 1/2 gallon of acid to 4-5 gal. water in a 5 gal pail. You can spray it on with a garden sprayer and scrub scrub scrub.

I should mention that you should wet down the wall with water first. You can scrub it down with pieces of brick with no acid, rinse it down. Then put on your acid one section at a time. 

Do not let the wall dry before rinsing it again.

This work is best done in the shade or during a rainy, overcast day (when you can't be laying brick).


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## Ravenworks (Oct 31, 2010)

Stay away from acid,if you do use it make sure you neutralise it when your done.
I like using Sure Kleen you can get it from a masonry supply house.


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## rightit (Mar 5, 2011)

Thank you all for the pointers. It helps a lot to know the details. 

Are pressure washers always used for this? Also, cleveman, I'm not sure what you mean by "...You can scrub it down with pieces of brick..."?

Again, thank you!


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

rightit said:


> Are pressure washers always used for this?



In 40 some year I've never seen it done without one. Also never seen the use of "Sure Kleen" but I presume it's supposed to work just as well as muriatic.


What is meant by "use a brick" is that you could use a brick, just like you would a stiff brush, to get some of the worst off.


Me, I would use a stiff bristle brush with a longish handle.


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## stuart45 (Jun 20, 2009)

With certain bricks, if you rub them with another softer brick it will really clean them up. Yours look like the faces might not be smooth enough for this method to be as good.


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## jomama45 (Nov 13, 2008)

cleveman said:


> I should mention that you should wet down the wall with water first. You can scrub it down with pieces of brick with no acid, rinse it down.
> 
> Do not let the wall dry before rinsing it again.
> 
> This work is best done in the shade or during a rainy, overcast day (when you can't be laying brick).





Ravenworks said:


> Stay away from acid,if you do use it make sure you neutralise it when your done.
> I like using Sure Kleen you can get it from a masonry supply house.





ktkelly said:


> What is meant by "use a brick" is that you could use a brick, just like you would a stiff brush, to get some of the worst off.
> 
> 
> Me, I would use a stiff bristle brush with a longish handle.





stuart45 said:


> With certain bricks, if you rub them with another softer brick it will really clean them up. Yours look like the faces might not be smooth enough for this method to be as good.


/\/\/\ This is all good info IMO. (I edited a little bit out)

I wouldn't use muratic, especially on newly laid brick. "Sure Kleen" makes a whole line of masonry cleaners depending on teh severity of the staining & the brick & mortar color. "Vanatrol & Detergent 600 are two of the most common, and are far safer to use on brick than diluted muratic.

Also, be extremely careful on using high pressure with any acidic cleaner. It will drive the deep in the brick and can result in effloresence showing up sporadically for years.

Read the directions before movign ahead:

http://www.prosoco.com/Content/Documents/Product/87a67032-fd01-4355-8052-45b7424999c1.pdf


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## Ravenworks (Oct 31, 2010)

Sure Kleen 600 is the name I was thinking about


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## rightit (Mar 5, 2011)

Once again, thank you for the additional information. I've actually been out working on it today. You can't really tell from the image, but this brick has a deep wire cut texture (don't really care for that texture, but it is what it is). This makes it pretty difficult to get clean, but I think it came out pretty well. I haven't done the center under the window yet, as there is an issue with the window and the sill bricks (that's another post...). 

It shouldn't be too hard to remove the residue (greyish film). It's pretty close just having cleaned the mortar off. I'll be stopping in at a masonary supply house in my area monday. I'll be sure and ask them about Sure Kleen.

Again, thanks so much for all the helpful advice!

And thanks, jomama, for the pdf file!


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## Ravenworks (Oct 31, 2010)

It looks good.


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## cleveman (Dec 17, 2011)

That will be fine when you get it all cleaned. Just don't dither, as it won't get easier as the days pass.

Good tip from Jomama about the pressure washer. I haven't seen so much effervescence in the past as I see today and the pressure washer sure wasn't used in the past.


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