The question that often piques our minds is: Does power washing hurt brick? Here are a few tips for cleaning brick. Brick is porous and contains many small holes, so the wrong detergent can quickly eat away at the surface. This makes washing away the detergent an extremely difficult task. To avoid this problem, you should always use a lower-acid detergent, and only soft-washing methods. Standard cleaners can also degrade brick and compromise the mortar structure.
Another question that comes to mind when power washing is how much pressure should be used. Older brick is not nearly as durable as newer construction materials, so you’ll want to avoid using the highest pressure possible. You don’t want to damage the brick, but you don’t want it to look like new, either. In most cases, a low-pressure power washer can help remove dust, stains, and algae, as well as make the brick look like new.
If you’re using a cleaning solution with high pressure, it’s important to rinse it well. You should also make sure that you rinse the solution from the brick before using it again. To do this, you can add a bit of dish soap to the water and scrub the brick gently. This can also help remove stains that might otherwise be impossible to remove, like grass stains or tree sap. For a deeper clean, you can use a brick and mortar detergent.
