How To Treat Concrete Walls

2 installing a waterproof membrane on the interior side of the foundation wall.

How to treat concrete walls.

First grab some gloves and a dust mask. Yank off any vines moss or other plant life covering the concrete. How to clean mold off basement concrete walls. Sealer needs to be applied in dry conditions because it won t adhere to damp concrete.

Work in sections about 3. Cover the floor and furniture in the basement with plastic sheeting. Concrete is a porous material when fully cured. Use a large sponge to thoroughly wet down the efflorescence spots on the walls.

Scrub thoroughly then disinfect. How to remove efflorescence from basement walls. Apply detergent and water. There are other commercial products available that can be used to remove the efflorescence in concrete but you will always need to make sure that all cracks and joints have been properly sealed.

Second because efflorescence is caused by excess moisture it s not advisable to start cleaning with water it will only drive the alkaline salts deeper into the block. The temperature also needs to stay above 50 f during application and drying time up to three days. Clean mold off walls by scrubbing the area thoroughly with a bristle brush after about ten minutes to help to lift any residual mold out of the pores in the concrete. Before applying check the weather.

Reasons to avoid bleach. If your concrete is new you ll need to let it cure wait at least one month before applying sealer. Seal the entire concrete wall with a waterproof masonry. Use a dry wire brush to scrub off the powder i use a shop vac to clean up the loose powder that falls.

Fill a bucket with warm water. If you can hose off the walls or scrub them down with warm water to remove any cling on spores when you finish and leave the walls clean and shiny. For many years bleach was the go to cleaner for mold and many commercial mold cleaning products still include it as the. Scrub the section.

Preventing moisture migration through a concrete foundation wall is accomplished by a combination of the following. When using these products always try it first on a small area to verify that it will work and will not deteriorate the concrete. You want the surface to be as clean and bare as possible for the best coating of paint later on. To conduct a simple condensation test dry an area of the wall with a rag and then attach a one foot square piece of aluminum foil to the wall with duct tape.