Masonry question

kemrefarms · #1 03/02/13, 11:22 AM

I had some rock work done but live in the red clay dirt. Over the winters the red has splashed on the rock work and stained it. (they did not seal it when they were done) So my question, is there anything I can do to restore the rock to the colors its supposed to be? Thanks

HuskyBoris · #2 03/02/13, 12:23 PM

I would try hot water and powdered tide with a stiff scrub brush,I think I would stay away from anything too acidic but who knows,I could be wrong,most of my rock cleaning was limlited to green mold stain and thats alot different than red clay.good luck

unregistered41671 · #3 03/02/13, 12:42 PM

I cleaned my chimney with Muriatic Acid and had no problems. It was easy and did a good job.

T-Bone 369 · #4 03/02/13, 03:36 PM

That's a pretty common problem with new stonework and splashing water. After some type of ground coverage becomes established it should minimize but until then it's going to be a problem. That's the bad news. The good news is that it is not really staining the stone just making it dirty. Depending on the stone and the porosity of the material try the simplest thing first then work up. I would start with a hose and brush (no detergent). If that does not work use a powerwasher. In my experience one of those two will usually do the trick. As a last resort you can use a wash solution but be sure to make sure that you are matching the cleaner to the material. Muriatic acid works on some types of stone but on others it can cause it to change color. There are special cleaning products designed to clean stone but you need to read the label before choosing the one to use. As to sealing, we do not seal new stone work until it has had a full weather cycle. Stone tends to effloresce especially in the first year (that's the white substance - mostly salts - that leach out of the stone) as it weathers. If you seal it just after laying it the salts are under the seal coat and can not be washed off. Obviously you are going to want to get the clay off for the same reason. If you wait you can wash the residue off then after you see it has stopped or slowed way down you can seal it and be done. We use Thoroseal as a sealer - it's a vastly superior product to Thompsons - and apply it with a pump up hand sprayer. Wash the wall and let it dry, start at the top and run a wet line down the wall. Two coats is best. After it is sealed any future spashback from the ground should come right off.

HuskyBoris · #5 03/02/13, 07:27 PM

T Bone,I see you suggested starting scrubbing without detergent,does it cause damage to the rock or was it just to start as simply as possible and work your way up?are there any cleaners I should avoid using on rocks?

kemrefarms · #6 03/03/13, 11:46 AM

ohhh, thank you!!! gosh T-bone, I think you saved the day!!! the rock is a product, if I remember it is called rock blox, I believe it is crushed rock formed into a "rock product" but there is a mix with it, flagstone, and a regular "real" rock base at the bottom. I will give this a try when the weather clears up. It does not come off with scrubbing, or scrubbing with soap. I will try using the power washer next and see what happens.

T-Bone 369 · #7 03/03/13, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyBoris

T Bone,I see you suggested starting scrubbing without detergent,does it cause damage to the rock or was it just to start as simply as possible and work your way up?are there any cleaners I should avoid using on rocks?

No, regular detergent will not damage the rock. The problem is the mud is in the pores of the stone, it's not a stain like an oil stain so detergent is probably not going to be very effective. Any cleaner with an acid base can damage stone depending on the type of stone and the concentration of the solution. We use muriatic acid a lot on brick to clean off mortar stains. Brick are pretty hard and the acid reacts with the mortar basically disolving it. If your working with slate or another hard, non-reactive stone it works well. If your trying to clean limestone which is pretty soft and reactive it can etch the surface and depending on the other mineral content of the stone can cause streaking and staining. The easiest thing to do before you use any cleaner is test it on a piece of extra stone or someplace hidden so if there is a problem it's not out there in you face to look at.

kemrefarms - I think with a little experimentation your get it off. Stone is a lot like copper - it looks best when it has had a little time to age and get that patina. Something I did not mention when I was talking about sealers is that there are different "looks". If all you want to do is seal the stone then a dry look sealer is fine but they make a wet look sealer that dries to a shine like the stone is still wet. If you have a lot of color that appears when the stone gets wet and you like that look it's something to look into. Any masonry supplier should carry it. Good luck and keep us posted