Cleaning walls : Brick and stone

Keeping your brick, stone walls, floors and walkways clean and looking great is sometimes a huge task. Most often brick and stone are used on fireplaces where the smoke and soot wreak havoc on their looks. Brick and stone are often found in cellar floors and walls. They can become mold covered and dirty if you don’t keep up with the yearly chores. Here we are going to discuss a few regular upkeep and cleaning ideas for both brick and stone.

►When cleaning brick or stone with a wire brush, always be sure to pick out any wires that might have broken off because over time wires will rust and leave marks that will be permanent on your brick or stones.

►To remove soot from your fireplace you can use a wire brush to scrub the brick hard and then just vacuum up the dust. For hard to reach areas that still appear dark, use a thinner wire brush (it is almost shaped like a toothbrush but longer in the head of the brush) to continue cleaning.

►For regular cleaning of your fireplace brick or stone walls you can use hot soapy water and a heavy duty cloth for a fresh clean. If you would like to add a great smell to your clean, add a half a cup of lemon juice to the hot water as well. You don’t have to dry this mixture after you clean but it will take a few hours until the brick or stone is thoroughly dry.

►To clean stone walls in your basement, you can use a power washer with a mixture of lime and hot water for a deep clean. Spraying the walls with a pressure washer will deep clean stopping mold in its tracks.

►To clean stone around a fireplace you can use a cup of vinegar mixed with a quart of hot water for a fresh clean but you have to dry this up as you go because vinegar can break down certain grouts used between the stone.

►Do you have weeds growing between your stone pathways? You can use full strength vinegar to kill weeds while not harming the environment!

►You can clean your stonewalls with a mixture of a cup of peroxide and a quart of warm water. Monthly ‘dusting’ with ammonia will keep mold and mildew from growing, which will cut down on deep cleaning later on.

►The exterior of your home, brick or stone walls, can be washed down with plain water from your garden hose to cut dust and dirt. If one side of your home doesn’t get much sunlight you should mix ammonia in the water to fight off molds and mildew.