What is Efflorescence or Salting and

Preventing Efflorescence from Reoccurring

This project is sponsored by Property Repair Systems

What is Efflorescence, and what is the cause of efflorescence, How do

I treat salting on Plaster and brickwork, Tips for Treating Damaged
Brickwork and Preventing Efflorescence.
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What is efflorescence?
You may have noticed wall stains on your exterior brickwork and wondered "what are they"?

If they are white deposits like the ones in the picture below then they could be caused by
efflorescence. Efflorescence is one type of white deposit found on masonry. It is formed when
water reacts with the natural salts contained within the construction material and mortar. The
water dissolves the salts which are then carried out and deposited onto the surface by the natural
evaporation that occurs when air comes into contact with the surface of the wall or floor.
Damaged Brickwork caused by efflorescence on brick
Sometimes Efflorescence is confused with spalling – this is damaged brickwork where the
surface of the bricks starts to crumble because of Freeze/Thaw action, after it has become
saturated in the winter months. However this is a different problem to efflorescence (also known
as "salting"). You can read more about spalling in our project on freeze/thaw damage.

Damaged Brickwork caused by weathering

A definition for Efflorescence is a staining of brickwork, masonry and concrete, caused by salts
being washed out of construction materials, and being deposited on the surface of building
materials by the evaporation process of water.

Efflorescence itself is not causing damage to the wall but it will damage any paintwork or
wallpaper that you put over interior walls affected by efflorescence. Salting on bricks, and other
construction materials, can also look unsightly on external walls. However this build-up of salts
on the surface of the wall is a sign that the wall has been wet, so you will need to investigate
what has caused the damp that has led to the efflorescence.