Masonry Magazine September 2008 Page. 25
"You need that acid to dissolve that excess mortar, so that you can rinse it off," Henry continues. "Since clay brick is acid resistant, you can use a more aggressive cleaner, one that has a more powerful acid, even though that acid is still harnessed." When discussing acids, taking care to prevent injury is always the most important consideration, followed by taking care of the owner's investment. Let's take some specific cases of using cleaners on newer substrates. Here's the word from Larry Kotke, VP of operations for Diedrich Technologies Inc. in Oak Creek, Wisc.
"With some of the new types of custom brick, burnished block, concrete brick and architectural block, manufacturers are recommending cleaners that do not contain hydrochloric (muriatic) acid," Kotke says. "For the cleaning of custom brick, burnished block, concrete brick and the architectural block, most cleaners are phosphoric acid based products. These will do a good job of cleaning, but they must be used before the mortar has cured completely, usually between seven and 14 days after construction of the wall. When discussing acids, taking care to prevent injury is always the most important consideration.
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"For cleaning manufactured stone new construction, hydrochloric and phosphoric acid based products can easily remove the fine colored finish from the stone," he continues. "We developed a product which utilizes an organic proton with chelator and no mineral acids. Diedrich Green Clean 250 has proven very effective, but again the cleaning must commence much earlier than with conventional cleaners. For this product
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September 2008
Masonry 23