Tried a lime-based mortar on a garden wall in Austin, got a weird white crust on every brick

Wanted to do an old school mix for a client's flower bed wall. Used Type S lime putty instead of the usual portland blend. Looked GREAT going on, real creamy. But after 3 days of dry heat, every single joint had this white powdery bloom. Not efflorescence exactly, more like a crust. I guess I didn't wet cure it enough. Anyone know if that stuff goes away or do I need to scrub every brick off with acid?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly8981d ago

Holding off on the acid scrub for now. That crust might be lime leachate, not just bloom. Austin's dry heat could have made the water in the mortar evaporate too fast and left the lime salts sitting on the surface. Sometimes a good soak with a garden hose for a few days will wash it off naturally. Plus, that crust might actually help the mortar harden over time if you let it be. Have you tried misting it every few hours to see if the crust softens up?

diana31421h ago

...and honestly, is a little white crust really the end of the world? I've seen people go nuclear over mortar bloom when really it's just cosmetic. Give it a few months of rain and sun and it'll probably blend right in. Unless the brick itself is flaking or popping off, I'd just hose it down once and move on. Seems like a lot of panic over something that might sort itself out.