How to Clean Brick

“How to clean brick? Can brick be pressure washed?” Many homeowners of brick homes ask these questions. Brick can be pressure washed, however, great care is needed when cleaning brick. Brick requires a bit more care and attention than your traditional vinyl siding.

Brick’s Greatest Downfall

Over time brick, as with all building materials, degrades and becomes dirty with mold, mildew, and moss. Brick is commonly ignored when cleaning the exterior of homes because of its greatest downfall: degradation. The mortar holding the bricks together can crack. The bricks can also become cracked. Generally, brick holds up strong for a lifetime.

As brick ages, it becomes more fragile. You can visibly tell the difference between a new and clean brick wall versus an old and dirty wall. The color fades and it becomes vulnerable to damage from high pressure power washers.

How to Clean Brick: The Carlton Way

When Carlton Cleans cleans brick and mortar homes, we make sure the brick has no cracks in the mortar. Before power washing can begin any cracks must be patched. We keep a good distance between us and the home and we do not use high pressure when power washing.

Detergents

Unlike most surfaces, brick requires a detergent to do all of the heavy lifting. A power washer will remove everything from the surface; however, it will also enlarge cracks and chip pieces out of the brick. How to clean brick the correct way is to use a lower pressure to prevent cracks and chips. Using lower pressure unfortunately means less power while cleaning. Detergents break up the grime and dirt enough to remove it with a quick, low pressure power wash.

How to Clean Brick: The Carlton Way

We use a strong detergent that’s specifically designed to clean bricks. A professional power washing company will know what detergent is needed to clean your home.

Brick is Resilient, Even When Cleaning

Power washing is an effective way to clean, but with bricks lower pressure can leave behind some resilient dirt spots that refuse to come off. After a thorough cleaning, bricks tend to have heavy dirt spots that don’t come off easily. A good scrubbing with some extra detergent may be necessary.

How to Clean Brick: The Carlton Way

Once the brick is cleaned, we examine the whole surface to ensure it’s as clean as it can get. If there’s a spot that doesn’t quite match the rest of the wall, we’ll scrub it off. Extra detergent may be necessary to eat away at the dirt and grime.

Final Stages: Protecting the Brick

Once washing is finished the brick should be nice and clean. It’s now time to protect the brick from future damages. There are 2 stages to protecting your brick that you should take note of:

1. Use a sealer. A brick sealant can save your bricks and mortar from cracking in the future. This will remove the step of patching cracks next time you have to clena.
2. Future cleanings. The best way to maintain your bricks natural beauty is to have a professional evaluate and clean your bricks. It’s easy for us to say “It’s brick…It’ll hold up.” Brick is just as vulnerable as vinyl siding. Power wash brick whenever it starts looking dirty. A buildup of mold can lead to future deterioration. It is best to clean mold before it causes problems.

Contact us to power wash your brick today!