Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Never mix ammonia with bleach or other cleaners. Thanks for the photo! It removes oil, grease, grime and most stains and discolorations. Copyright 2016 PulteGroup, Inc. Fels-Naptha soap is a powerful laundry soap thats often used to pretreat stains. Achieving clean brick is simple and can be done regularly to ensure your home exterior looks great. Learn how to quickly and easily clean a brick patio with a few simple methods. Apply your brick cleaning solution to your saturated area. If you're working with ammonia or bleach, always protect your hands with rubber or latex gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. Brick cleaning solutions, solvents and acids can be harmful to plant life. Thanks for sharing your feedback. Not sure what 100 square feet looks like? No matter what cleaner you use, the key to cleaning brick is plenty of scrubbing. You can use Simple Green Oxy Solve Concrete and Driveway Cleaner to clean brick walls, pavers, patios and more with or without a pressure washer. Run water from a hose or bucket onto the brick. Saturate the lichen with the solution, allowing 4 to 5 hours to dry before the chance of rain. Some of these cleaners aren't safe for children, pets, or plants, so its important to cover outdoor areas as well. Exterior brick surfaces can afford more cleaning options, while an indoor wall or fireplace usually requires cleaning by hand. If you have never pressure washed brick before, then you may inadvertently damage your brick exteriors. There are three effective types of cleaning solvents for brick, including soapy water (for general brick cleaning), a bleach formula (for mold and mildew), or muriatic acid (for the toughest-to-remove stains). Make any necessary repairs before cleaning the bricks so that water and detergent don't make the problem worse. Spray the moss with Wet & Forget, allowing 4 to 5 hours to dry before the chance of rain. Or, create a paste that you can spread on the brick by mixing one part salt and one part dishwashing liquid and then adding just enough water to create a thick paste. Hi Helen, Why wasn't this page useful? Use this easy, DIY brick cleaning guide to restore your home to its original charm so your house can shine during your next outdoor entertainment event. Dip a brush into the acid, then apply the solution to brick using a bristle brush. But if your brickwork is covered in moss, lichen, algae, mold or mildew, its not so beautiful anymore. Ideally, it will be cloudy. Spray the brick down thoroughly with a garden hose before you apply solvent. For those that do not wish to deal with the harsh chemicals that can sometimes be found in brick cleaning solutions, there are several natural, and more cost-effective solutions to use for cleaning brick. Spot clean stubborn stains when you encounter them. Once you commit to cleaning a brick patio as a part of your regular household chores, it's time to choose a cleaning method. Not only is it safe for the kids, it can also be very cost effective and leave your home with clean bricks. Homeowners with sealed brick patios may find gray or white dust build-up from time to time. https://www.askwetandforget.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/brick-paver-patio-cleaner.jpg. Once the weeds are pulled from the roots, be sure to remove any dirt, leaves, or branches that may have fallen on your brick patio. Youll need to wear full safety gear (rubber gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator) to create your muriatic acid formula. This second application allows Wet & Forget to penetrate thelichens multiple layers. Use a broom with stiff bristles to brush the crevices and corners of your patio. Wet the area to be cleaned with the garden hose, ensuring you saturate the area youre about to clean from the top down. Before cleaning, inspect the brickwork for any damage. Avoid using a wire brush because it can leave bits of metal behind that rust and stain your bricks. Vinegar (For Basic or Interior Cleaning): Alternatively, some people skip the dish soap and mix a solution with equal parts vinegar and water, then pour it into a spray bottle. If it is stained or heavily soiled and the sprayer does not leave the brick clean, you may need to use a detergent. Moss, mildew and layers of dirt trap moisture that degrades the surface of the brick. Give your patio a thorough cleaning in spring. The best time to clean brick is when its around 50 degrees. Even an acid as mild as vinegar can be harmful, so it is crucial to make sure your plants and vegetables are preserved. Learn more about how to build a fire pit and what supplies you'll need for this DIY project. While cleaning methods like bleach or a pressure washer are harsh and dont last as long, Wet & Forget Outdoors gentle action will free your bricks of ugly growths and keep them clean for a year or more in most cases. Keep the pressure around 3,000 pounds per square inch to avoid damaging the brick. With this easy 7-step DIY, your brick exterior can be restored back to its original luster in no time! Spray all nearby plants, shrubs and grass with clean water before cleaning. Thoroughly saturate the affected area at a time when the bricks will have 4 to 5 hours to dry before the chance of rain. Experts warn that anything above 3,000 psi may damage the brick. It is not appropriate for historic or soft bricks. To get started, you need to grab a few materials from your garage. Weeding should be a regular part of your patio-cleaning regimen. You can add a brick-cleaning solution to your pressure washer. Be sure to soak the moss thoroughly, so the solution penetrates all the way through the moss. For high elevations (such as large brick walls) we recommend using Wet & Forget Hose End to apply. If the bleach begins to dry on the brick, spray a small amount of water on the area to keep it moist. Dry brick will absorb the solvent quickly, leaving you with discolored brick material and insufficient amounts of solvent. Thick liquid cleaners include the salt and soap cleaner, and the ammonia with soap/Fels-Naptha and pumice. This dust is a combination of grout and the muriatic acid used in cleaning up after the grouting job. Combine a tablespoon of bleach with a gallon of warm water in a bucket, then apply the bleach with a sponge to the brick. Regular brick cleaning is an important task every homeowner with this type of exterior should partake in. Use a seal on your patio as a preventative measure. Rinse your patio off with water every few weeks. TIP: After cleaning, seal your bricks with a siloxane or silane-based sealer. It is best to treat lichen on a day that is not too hot and sunny, to avoid rapid evaporation and allow Wet & Forget the maximum time to penetrate the lichen. If you decide to do it yourself, test a small area first to make sure the abrasive does not pit or damage the brick. If you are unsure about the type of stains that are covering your patio, consider consulting look the Brick Industry Association's website. I am going to paint brickwork. For regular cleaning of brick patios, you can opt for a milder cleaning solution. Wet & Forget comes in a few different sizes, you would be fine purchasing our smallest size (43oz) or if you buy a larger size, just know that Wet & Forget lasts forever and is good to use on pretty much any exterior surface green and black stuff grows on. If your brick turns darker immediately, clean bricks in small areas and varying time intervals. What's more, it can add value to your home's patio. Over time, brick can become dirty because of soot, mold, hard water, algae, mud, and other elements. Its best to determine which type of brick you have and visit your local hardware store to find which brick cleaning solution is best for your home. Scrub, power wash, or hose down your surface per your brick cleaners instructions. Is it OK to use oxygen bleach to clean the surface before painting? In most cases, pressure washing will be enough to clean the brick. In that capacity, she learned how to clean just about anything. Be sure to frequently replace the water in the bucket to avoid streaks on the brickwork. Mix a solution of 1 part Wet & Forget and 5 parts water in a pump-up garden sprayer. Scrub gently, letting the acid remain on the brick for a few minutes. Melanie Garcia. Thank You. You can prolong the life of your brick patio by cleaning it regularly. There have been a few close calls where someone almost got badly hurt from slipping. Whether you have a brick fence, brick walls, brick walkways, or any other type of brick exteriors, its helpful to learn how to clean and restore brick. To make larger quantities, mix equal parts soap and salt, by weight, in a larger container. Is the picture above the before picture? {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1b\/Create-Homemade-Brick-Cleaner-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/v4-460px-Create-Homemade-Brick-Cleaner-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1b\/Create-Homemade-Brick-Cleaner-Step-1-Version-2.jpg\/aid3333497-v4-728px-Create-Homemade-Brick-Cleaner-Step-1-Version-2.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"
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