How to clean brick walls in-bay?

[SSW]

My ss car washes are constructed out of dark reddish brown brick. In the bays there is quite a bit of build up of water minerals and chemical. We tried to scrub the walls with muratic acid but it left behind a white residue we can't seem to get off.

Can anyone recommend any products or know what type of business cleans brick?

TIA

 

[Jim L.]

JBS - "Bay & Wall Cleaner"
Kleen-Rite - "Klean-Wall"
Arcadian - "Nu-Wall"

 

[under pressure]

Klean-wall works best for me,

 

[MEP001]

The white residue is the build-up that you didn't completely remove.

Klean-Wall is a lot less harsh than muriatic acid and does the job well, but it's expensive.

 

[SSW]

Would the Kleen Wall remove the white residue left over from the muratic acid?

If nothing is going to get the walls clean, maybe it's better to look into putting something over the brick. But I'm not sure that looks good either.

 

[MEP001]

Would the Kleen Wall remove the white residue left over from the muratic acid?

Yes, but so will more muriatic acid, either more cleaning as you did before or a stronger application. I've cleaned bay walls that were so dirty that I had to use it straight.

 

[mmurra]

We had that brick for 20+ years and finally did the FRP makeover 5 years ago. The bays stay cleaner and brighter. We have not looked back! Mark

 

[SSW]

Yes, but so will more muriatic acid, either more cleaning as you did before or a stronger application. I've cleaned bay walls that were so dirty that I had to use it straight.

Any suggestions for the best way to apply it / tools to use? Maybe my guy just didn't do it right...

 

[SSW]

We had that brick for 20+ years and finally did the FRP makeover 5 years ago. The bays stay cleaner and brighter. We have not looked back! Mark

What is FRP? I'm assuming it's the white board you can screw into the walls. I've been wanting to see pictures of what the final product looked like. Do you have any pictures you'd be willing to share?

 

[MEP001]

Any suggestions for the best way to apply it / tools to use? Maybe my guy just didn't do it right...

When the masons do it, they dilute some in a bucket and use a brush to dip and scrub off the residue left from the mortar. When I clean walls with it, they've always been very heavily coated with calcium, and applying it straight was the only thing that worked. I use a deck sprayer with all Viton seals and do a 10' section of wall at a time. Even straight it might take a second application to get it all cleaned off.

It's really nasty stuff, and it fumes like crazy. I don't know what type of breathing equipment it takes to protect yourself, but you surely need something specialized. I prefer to do it at night during a light rain with no breeze, and if I can see it drifting toward me I can get out of the way.

 

[mjwalsh]

JBS - "Bay & Wall Cleaner"
Kleen-Rite - "Klean-Wall"
Arcadian - "Nu-Wall"

SSW,

To Jim L's list we can add Alum Brite from Warsaw. I believe all 3 of these use hydroflouric acid so you definitely do want to ----- learn the hard way about the extreme potential danger! Find out about the precautions necessary if you use these specific solutions!

MJ

 

[MEP001]

Of the chemicals listed, only Nu-Wall contains hydrofluoric acid.