Is your wonderful brick fireplace hearth fading?  Does your red cinnabar brick porch look bleached?  This guide will help in learning tricks for cleaning bricks and help in keeping their rich colors vibrant.

Brick hearths provide a home with a warm, inviting atmosphere....but the white splotches and fading that often greets homeowners is not a welcome sight.  The discoloring is due to a process called efflorescence where salts used in the bricks (or even found in your ground water) evaporates and forms (called blooming) tiny salt crystals on the surface of the brick. 

Identifying the problem is the easy part...now to fix it!

Diagnosing the Problem

The picture on the left illustrates the "blooming" on the bricks....notice the white shading over what should be red bricks.  Those are the salt crystals that have formed.  Notice the problem seems to be symptomatic on all the bricks.  However, the picture on the right shows that - yes...it can be a one brick problem.  The other bricks may have come from a different batch with less of a salt-water compound used in the mix. 

Solving the Problem

First thing...if your bricks have been newly installed, then wait a week to allow the masonry to dry properly. You definitely do not want to destroy the masonry in order to clean the bricks.

If seven days have passed since the bricks where laid, then we should be good to go....and our focus becomes not making the problem worse. 

A sandblaster may knock off the crystals, but a good bit of the surface of your brick will go right down with them.  Chemical cleaners may sound magical, but can be quite dangerous....bringing in harsh chemicals that can kill living creatures....not to mention absolutely eat a hole in your carpet or destroy the finish on your wood floors... is not necessary. 

Outdoor Tips for Cleaning Bricks

• Through Erosion - Now...if your bricks are on a sidewalk or patio where there is a lot of foot traffic, then the salt crystals will erode quite a bit on their own.  Kind of like surface wear....only the good kind, because walking across the bricks is wearing off the crystals. 
• Through Rain - Again, if the problem bricks are outside, the rain and other weather elements will help diminish the salt crystals.  Rain with a higher acid base, often found in areas of high population, dissolves the crystals even faster. 

Indoor Tips for Cleaning Bricks

• Through Brushing - Get a sponge, a scrub brush with stiff bristles (like you would use on a car tire or cleaning in the kitchen) and a bucket of clean, warm water.  Do not use a wire brush or brush with metal bristles - this is like the sandblasting....the surface of the brick will be removed along with the crystals.  Then it's just 1, 2, and 3... 

                  1)   Protect anything near the bricks that might get damaged from water.  Clear off the hearth so no magazines are soaked in the process or any other items nearby.

                  2)  Clean the bricks with your damp sponge.  This washes the bricks and moistens the surface making it easier to scrub off the crystals.

                  3) Go over the bricks thoroughly with the damp scrub brush. Basically, you will be manually causing the erosion that foot traffic brings to your outdoor bricks. 

A Word About Muriatic Acid

You might have heard someone recommend muriatic acid for cleaning bricks.... don't do it. Muriatic acid, commonly called hydrochloric acid, is highly corrosive and, for years, has been mentioned as a brick cleaner. 

 But it is very dangerous and used in the wrong concentration will not only destroy your brick mortar, but can corrode the flesh on your skin as well.  The fumes are also quite harmful and it is just too easy for something to go wrong when it could easily have been avoided.   Clean water and a scrub brush is so much easier...why risk it? 

A Few Final Thoughts....

Now that your brickwork looks great... you might enjoy a couple of fun accessory items to showcase your masterpiece!

eBay has a great selection of fireplace accessories that can add that finishing touch!  Whether you are looking for a stunning fireplace screen, a great set of fireplace tools, or an elegant carrier for your firelogs, there is something for everyone! 

Enjoy!