Red brick walls make homes look elegant and classic.
However, the bricks being porous in nature attract lots of dust and dirt to make it stained and stuck with pollutants.
Apart from dust and dirt, other factor like daily weathering, soot, water marks and mold, can also make it look ugly and unattractive.
Since painting of brick walls will rob it of its innate beauty, let us learn how to clean them effectively.
Materials required
- Few sheets of plastic drop-cloth
- A painter’s fixating tape
- One set of rubber gloves
- Half cup of tri-sodium phosphate chemical
- One scrubbing brush
- Cleaning sponge
- Clean rags
Cleaning procedure
- First of all, spread and tape up the sheets of plastic drop-cloth carefully beneath the red brick wall for defensive reasons. This would prevent damage of the surrounding floor area if cleaning solution drips during cleaning session.
- Next, wear safety glasses and cover your hands thoroughly with rubber gloves. These two items should be of good quality lest the process may render harm to eyes and hands.
- Now take half a cup of tri-sodium phosphate in a bucket and add hot water to it (about one gallon). The mixing of chemical with hot water should be done with care to avoid splattering of liquid over hands or face. Keep another bucket full of hot water besides for cleaning.
- Now take a long-handled plastic brush that can scrub effectively. Dip this brush in the prepared chemical solution and smear it over a small section of red brick wall. Start scrubbing it gradually with firm hands. Cleanse in this manner for one minute.
- Before proceeding to next section of brick wall, rinse the scrubbed area with sponge and clean water. After through rinsing, dry it with a clean cloth.
- Repeat these steps for further sections to scrub clean the whole wall.
- After whole wall has been cleaned, remove sheets of plastic drop-cloth.
Dos and Don’ts
- The rinsing water should be changed frequently so that there are no traces of tri-phosphate solution on the brick wall.
- Do not add more than required amount of chemical to the hot water lest the concentrated solution may cause permanent harm to the red brick wall. The strong chemical may rob the brick wall of its attractive red color.
Source: MagicBricks.com Bureau