Salt Crystals On Concrete Floor
As moisture migrates up to the surface of the concrete it carries along with it calcium salts from within the concrete.
Salt crystals on concrete floor. Concrete efflorescence is a very common problem on concrete especially decorative concrete. When moisture and water vapor migrate to the surface of hardened concrete floors walls and colored concrete it carries with it calcium hydroxide. Leave the concrete to dry for 24 hours and then remove the salt with a broom and a hose pipe. Another culprit is of course the clay brick itself.
Efflorescence depends on the presence of salt and moisture and the growth of crystals will continue as long as both are present. The water dissolves salts inside the object while moving through it then evaporates leaving the salt on the surface. In our line of organization we come across a great number of home owners who express concern about a white flaky substance that is appearing on their basement walls or floors. It s caused by water seeping through the wall floor object.
The salt crystals should have half their diameter sticking out above the concrete surface. Efflorescence is a white crystalline or powdery often fluffy fuzzy deposit on the surface of masonry materials like concrete brick clay tile etc. It can cause paint to peel and can even lift floor tiles that were applied directly to the concrete floor. The white powdery residue forms when there is excess moisture in the environment which causes water soluble alkaline salt to leach out of the masonry and form crystals.
Remove the salt crystals. The soluble salts could come from the sand or from contaminated water used to make the concrete grout or mortar. The salt will dissolve when sprayed with water as salt is a soluble mineral. The salt that ends up as efflorescence crystals on your walls can come from salt laden soils or the portland cement in the mortar and grout.
This white dusty scaly salt can be minimal or dramatic depending on the amount of free calcium salt present in the. Efflorescence is a crystalline deposit of salts that can form when water is present in or on brick concrete stone stucco or other building surfaces it has a white or greyish tint and consists of salt deposits left behind when water evaporates. The salts are present in the mortar blocks or concrete structure and the moisture is usually attributable to some building defect.