On Sat, 17 Apr 2010 08:15:26 -0400, aemeijers wrote:

ransley wrote:
On Apr 16, 8:32 pm, Oren wrote:
On Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:24:46 -0700 (PDT), ransley

wrote:
I am going to paint some exterior brick on my house, ive cleaned the
white efflorence area 3 times with full strength Muriatic acid, I wet
it, let it sit a few minutes, scrub then wash and the next day its
grown back severly, maybe 1/16". There are no visable leaks on the
inside of that wall section. I thought to have effloresence you had to
have an active leak or wet brick, is this my problem that I do in fact
have moisture still pushing out, or is there another cause and a
better way to clean it.
'round here I call it "effervescence"*. Minerals leach into the cinder
blocks walls. When it rains, is becomes more obvious. Lake Mead has
mineral bath tub ring around it.

I use vinegar and wash it down. You could also use a power washer on
the brick. If it is wet, you will see more leaching of the mineral. I
haven't went so far as to use Muriatic acid.

2 cents!

*
"Main Entry: effervescence
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: fizz, foam
Synonyms: bubbles, bubbling, ebullition, ferment, fermentation,
froth, frothing, sparkle..."

I think I need a new moisture meter, my last one got legs and left me,
im thinking it has to be internal moisture. I get the the stuff
removed alright so a power washer wont do more, but it grows right
back in 12 hours

Is this a real brick wall, or the modern brick veneer sitting on a
foundation ledge, with a half-inch airspace between it and the tarpaper?
You said the wall is dry inside the house, so I suspect the latter.
Sounds like you have a water leak high on the wall, keeping the brick
wet. Are the weep holes at the bottom of the wall clear? Run a hose on
the wall from top to bottom, and see what it looks like the next day.
Note that a roof or gutter board or fly rafter leak can travel along
soffit and run down the wall. They can be a real PITA to track down
sometimes. An ice pick poked into the wood trim above the suspected wet
area is a quick way to check for mushy wood. It can be something as
simple as failed caulking in an end joint between two pieces of wood trim.

We have some efflorescence in some of the stone on hour house. It's
apparently a surface issue because it's only one type of the "stone".

Having said all that, why are you painting brick? Sorta defeats the
purpose of having brick, IMHO. Only reason I would ever paint brick is
to buy a few extra years from a failing wall. (Like on an old building
where they cheaped out and used soft brick on the alley side, etc.)

Agreed. Painted brick looks like hell.