Efflorescent,Efflorescent is whitish powder that migrates to the paving stone surface. It is not appealing to the eyes and for many consumers it is very disappointing to see this. It is a very normal and natural process for the lime to bleed out of the brand new concrete pavers. It is very unfortunate for the consumers that after spending lots of money they have to be not happy about their investment.
But the problem is not the white powder; the problem is more the fact that the consumer is misled,
Because you get all caught up with all the paving stone s manufactures marketing and fancy names, and you try to make sense of all the paving stone’s manufactures claim of superior products. But the truth is that don’t matter what you buy or witch paving stone brand you use you get the same product just called different name.
Efflorescent will eventually go away, there are products that could clean the white powder residue over the paving stones, but my professional suggestion to clean the efflorescent, is to let the curing cycle of the brand new pavers. This could take several months, but the best solution is to wait 2 full years, and after two years there should be no whiter sitting on the patio and at that moment you can clean the surface with efflorescent cleaner there are few solution that would work the one that we have used and really works is sure clean. It comes in 5 gallons pails; you should dilute the solution with water mixing it 50 /50. The surface of the paving stones should be dry when you apply these products and it should be sprayed on, then using a hard bristles broom you should scrub the stones for about 10 minutes, if the solution starts to dry, apply more on the stones after you are done brushing it. Then you can wash it off with the garden hose. You need water value more than pressure because the chemical does the cleaning not the water pressure. Let the pavement dry and wait a few days And if it is not yet clean enough for you can repeat the process one more time, but it should be good the first time.
Many times the white powder will come back, and this will happened more in the spring time when the weather goes from cold to warm, the temperature change from day to day could bring more lime out of the paving stones and show on the surface3. But this will go away as soon as the weather gets warm.
Efflorescent is just a chemical reaction between the new cement that is used to make the pavers, water and the temperature. the pavers get wet the warm weather dries them and in the process of drying the salts rises to the top of the stones because the heat goes up and it also brings the lime to the surface , and because of the new cement the stone is very reach in lime . And you can say that the better the stones the more white you will get until the cycle stops or comes to a minimum.
It is very important that drainage as to be done correctly under the pavers ,and that is the key to a good installation that it all starts with the installer , having the right installer is the answer to a great installation. For more information or question visit our web site at www.gappsi.com .