LESLIE: Alright, we’ve got a curb appeal question from Joel. How can we help you?
JOEL: Yeah, hi. I recently bought a house and the stoop was redone. It seems like they didn’t do a proper job so there’s like some white residue left from the mortar between the bricks. And is there any way to get rid of that after like a few months later or am I stuck with that?
TOM: The white residue that’s left may very well be mineral salts. Have you tried to wash it out with a vinegar solution?
JOEL: I haven’t tried but I’m saying it’s rained many times and it doesn’t seem like – I mean I’ve been working on it and I think it might be part of the mortar from the brick.
TOM: Well, the other thing that happens is you get mineral salts that are in the brick and sometimes it takes quite a while for them to sort of all rinse out. And as the water gets drawn out of the brick it leaves this sort of white, crusty deposit on it. And all you can really do is clean it but it will eventually stop.
JOEL: So what would I clean that with?
TOM: I would start, just as an experiment, with some white vinegar. Get a gallon of white vinegar; mix it up with a couple of gallons of water and wash it down and see if that takes the salt away. That’s very, very commonly what causes this kind of staining and it’s really pretty simple to get rid of.
JOEL: OK, thanks a lot. That’s very helpful. Thank you.
TOM: You’re welcome. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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