Efflorescence Tips and Tricks 

You should always go to my AsktheBuilder website when you have questions. I have many columns about this topic there. Use my search engine. SPELL EFFLORESCENCE correctly to find them. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter while you're there. FREE tips each week.

thank you so much! You just saved me thousands of dollars and a lot of heart ache worrying about white mold.

I have been explaining to people for 25 years about efflorescence. That was really well worded so that people get it. Great video Thank you.

I have been dealing with soil moisture seepage through a foundation of a 1943 home, for a couple of months now. I am so glad that I did not get out the bucket and brushes and add more moisture. I am running a fan and a dehumidifier 24 hours and the moisture collection is lessening. Thank you for this video.

Thank god for people like you that take their time and educate others in this fashion. You literally just calmed me down from a panic attack. My basement flooded last week and I am just now starting to see this white substance on my cement floor and cement walls. Instantly thought it was a form of mold that was white in color. After watching your video, I can safely say it is not mold and efflorescence instead. Thank you good sir

Thanks for the explanation. I have lived in Florida for 6 years and have concrete driveway which is painted grey. There is a low spot about 1 sq. ft. where the paint has failed, so it is bare concrete and water puddles there. Just a few months ago, these white growths started appearing for the first time, and I could swear that it was a living organism of sorts getting started. It behaves like you described. I've tried all kinds of mold/mildew removers which work for a day or two, then it is back with a vengeance....relieved to know that it probably not alive and is harmless.

Thanks! I've typed this advice hundreds of times here on RU-vid in the comments. Whenever you watch a video of mine and have questions, it's always a good idea to wander off to my AsktheBuilder website - the dot com one. Why? Because invariably I've written MANY columns about the topic. This is true for efflorescence. Go read what I've written and you'll discover your answers! Be SURE to subscribe to my FREE weekly newsletter while you're there to get even more tips!

Thanks Tim. I was nervous about my basement wall and was going to wash it. Now I will brush it off and vacuum. Good video!

My parents house, built 17 years ago, all concrete. It has that stuff growing like crazy on certain sides of the house, usually under the Windows and close to the ground. Thanks for clearing it up.

thank you! The salt water that drips from our wetsuits must be causing this to grow in the cracks in our garage floor. i thought it was mold, but i am so glad i found your video.

After mopping the surface a billion times Ive finally realised that sweeping is a much better solution though I did find that the salt damaged the top of the concrete if left for too long. Have applied densi crete and will see how that goes. Thanks for the advice.

At first when I saw efflorescence on my garage floor, I thought it was salt. So I brushed it away. But it kept coming back and I found it to grow to half inch easily, I became convinced it was fungus! Glad to know I can put it on my food safely. Thanks

Thank you I painted my concrete floor in a commercial space for a salon I am in the process of opening. I went back the next day and the efflorescence was in several places. I didn’t know what it was or what to do. I wiped it off with a wet mop, smh but now I know to just sweep it away. Thank you for your video.

Efflorescence comes from the pressure of water against a surface. That pressure slowly pushes water through the concrete collecting salts as it passes through. Once at the surface, the water evaporates and leaves the salts behind.

Efflorescence is common down here in the southwest part of the U.S....... you will see these salt deposits forming on stucco homes which is the most common type of home here in New Mexico.... especially homes that are built very close to the street where rain water gets splashed onto the exterior walls. Thanks for the Tips Tim!

Thank you very much for this I have it right against my patio cement and my stucco wall in my small patio and someone told me it was mold and I was going to pour bleach on it but now that you told me this I'll just go sweep it thank you so much for the information

thank you so much ...i have been spraying this thing with bleach and water , wondering why its getting worst ...you have been such a big help

I have this stuff forming at the top edge of a stainless steel entrance gate that is under a 5 yr old new concrete layer laid on a porch for granite tiles. The efflorescence is thick and hard as stone. Do you have any suggestions for removing without damaging or staining the stainless steel?

Soooo helpful and easy to follow, thank you!

100yo house without any foundation sealing/barriors, what’s the best approach? I’ve tried drylok on the inside but a year or two it’s forming behind it.

Thank you for this info. Found some on my concrete wall just today. It’s been raining a LOT lately, very humid either way since I live in the tropics.

Tim thank you for another great video. I have this issue in my basement along the block walls. The Efflorescence has actually caused paint that was over the basement walls to pucker and crumble in several areas. Any tips for this type of issue? Thanks again.

Thank you for this info. It completes the picture for me. I just had a plumbing situation and this white fuzzy stuff started forming on the floor after removing the damaged carpet. Your info gives me some peace of mind. Thanks again.

Just noticed this in my crawl space on a newly constructed home. Great video home inspection pointed it out. U just explained what it was thanks.

Thanks, Tim! We just spent thousands pavers for the patio/pool deck. Looked great for the first 2-3 weeks and then the haze came. I asked about it, assuming it was concrete dust from the pool remodel but all this finger pointing started happening. Everybody is trying to figure it out and fix my issue (or make me go away - lol). Your explanation makes perfect sense. So thank you! One question though...we have this beautiful new pool and paver patio and I’d hate to have to wait a year to naturally make this go away. Should we endure the cloudy look? Or best the wait a year then clean and seal? I’m finding efflorescence cleaners online, but questioning if we should do that and seal now - or wait it out. Let me know your thoughts, I’d appreciate it. Thanks!

Thanks Tim great tip exactly what I needed for the efflorescence on my chimney wall

Great video, what is the best way to seal the concrete surface so this doesnt continue?

Tim thanks for explaining. I now understand that its my neighbors side of my cinder block retaining wall that’s causing a moisture problem on my side every few years. I keep painting it and it just chips away in chunks a year later. If I can’t fix my neighbors side wall can I put stone or something on the wall that will adhere and hide it better. I bet you’re gonna say...plant bushes

the moisture by cracks are likely moisture migration through the crack from ground moisture . just like you mentioned water proofing a wall... new slabs should have vapor barrier plastic underneath. i put it under 4" of gravel when possible so rebar dont ruin it and the blead water has a temporary place to sit as concrete cures and hardens. saves headaches when coating concrete and preventing efflorescence issues.

thanks! i thought it was white mold.

Thankyou for this information. Before seeing this I thought it was some kind of mold on my tiles.

I wonder if you can drill a half inch hole in the slab and fill the void below with a sealer to prevent it from reaching the cracks

Cant figure out If I have white mold or efflorescence. Its coming through the stone hearth below my chimney, Where the laminate floor butts up against the stone. There is more inside the firelace area (Chimey is unused and IS damp with possible leakage) I really want it to be efflorescence and NOT effin' mold !!!! How do I tell the diff ? Help

so we don't have snow here so its not road salt, but for us, its been raining non stop in Southern California for the first time in decades and now we have tons of white powder all over.

You’re amazing. I wish I could show you my Situation with a internal brick wall I live in.

So what do you do if your wall is flaking? The front was repaired and French drain added. Do I keep brushing it away and eventually reseal it?

Great work very informative had this issue with my basement legend keep up the good work

I have this problem on the walkway up to my front door. When it rains, people track it into the house. I’ve been told putting a sealer on it will cause even more problems. Could I just put sealer in the area that people usually walk?

Thanks so much for this video Tim. I live in the Caribbean and saw the paint puff up and flake off. I then scraped off the paint, exposing the concrete wall in the room...a few days later, there was a white fuzz🤷🏾‍♀️🤯. I tried bleach and vinegar and nothing moved it... Thanks for letting me know to just brush it off. I was losing my mind over this. Thought that it was harmful to us.

You're most welcome. Have you heard about my new LIVE TV show here on RU-vid?

Thank you. I have a small area where the salts come through into the plasterboard and plaster. The source of the water was from a broken neighbours down pipe cutter splashing water all over the wall.

My block wall wall next to the basement steps has lots of white crystaline Efflorescence. And it looks like the block is breaking down, as the crumbled grey material falls to the floor. Now that wall is on one side of the garage but no one has parked in that side of the garage for decades, and the garage floor is only rarely wet. The efflorescence is confined to a "patch" about 3' wide x 2' tall, about 3' above the basement wall. I hzve no idea where the water is coming from, in fact it is the other walls that leak water because the yard slopes down towards the house. But no such drainage issue where the affected wall is. There are no water pipes either. I'm wondering if I should drill some holes to let the water out.

Brand new pavers, right off the pallet, all of them have efflorescence. The date of the pallet is from 2021 so they sat in the stone yard for a year. You are saying don't use water to clean. The stone yard told me to use water to clean. I am bummed, because from the get go, the brownish pavers are all coated with white. How can I remove this white residue without using harsh chemicals?

Thanks so much for the info! You sir are a legend! Much love from the U.K. 👍🏻

Very helpful. I would paint my wall up down from top to the bottom just to squeeze the water that contain of salt to stream down and dissolved just before another strokes and as oil would always goes upon the water maybe some types of oily paint would work

Thanks so much! You were very helpful. I have some of this on concrete in my basement, which has never ever flooded, not even a drop of water. Is it possible that it came from humidity or from the soil behind the wall?

Good. Thanks. Though it was mold.

Very helpful i am experiencing this, very good info, good job

Yes you explained what it is however it is not harmless, it destroys any surface that has long-term exposure to the salt crystals. We deal with it in Arizona all the time and masonry degradation is increased even more if the surface is sealed because it traps the salt.

My house was built in 1860 the inside of my mud room is brick and it is deteriorating I don’t want to use a chemical in there. The previous owners must have just painted over it because it is now coming out in big chunks along with the paint . I have high bubbles of the white power everywhere. How can I blend this safety and repaint this? Please Help Me

Thnku sir... such a knowledgable tips u had given ,from india

We just put in an inground pool and payed tens of thousands for beautiful stamped and stained concrete around it. They built a hot tub alongside the pool that is covered with beautiful stone. When it rains, water runs down the stone and drains off of the concrete. I believe the salt or lime is coming off of those stones and rinsing down the concrete in 2 water trails, leaving efflorescence stains. It does not brush away. In fact, the only thing that removed it was a lime cleaner but it's acidic on the concrete and is starting to wear off my concrete color and sealant. Again, it's not my concrete that is producing efflorescence but the trail of water from the stacked stones (hot tub surround) draining off onto the concrete. Any ideas? I feel that it's too late to seal the stacked and mortared stones.

Hi Tim, I’m getting this salt where my garage door comes down to the concrete, house is 4 years old and has just started to do this, my concern is my cat continues to lick it, would this be harmful?

I rinsed my paver's that were set in mortar with a 10% acid solution and the mortar turned white, can i fix it?

I’m on day 3 of my declared war with what I thought was mold but it truly is just efflorescence… I should’ve looked it up before I bought every cleaning supply out there… thank you for easing my mind on how to manage it!

I have been educated! Thanks for explaining it very well.

thank you so much' actually i have tried the internal water proofing step but didn't last very long, the salt came back after few years, trouble though the wall that has salt on it is a firewall next to my neighbor's house. so i guess i'll just brush it off for now and hope it will go away in time. thanks for the tip and hope to learn more from you in the future. God bless.

Thanks for the info. I have it on the inside of my garage wall nice to know I can just brush it off. I think I'll have to either re roughcast or seal the other side if the wall. I think that due a subscription Cheers.

What about when it seems to resist coming through the wall and forms solid bubbles? Do you hack it off?

My basement never had efflorescence until I had an interior french drain installed in my basement. The water that the system allows to come in to the drains is causing efflorescence in a few areas. Can this be stopped? Can I coat something over it? I want to maybe tile my basement floor.....thanks!

What do I need to do to prep a stone foundation to paint? We do currently have efflorescence. Does the wall need to be repointed?

Hi could crystal like stuff with glitter pieces that catch on to things be on a leaf or piece of wood that’s indoors and it’s the only little item it’s on

I go thru this every spring here in IL, salt brought into garage during the winter, I mop over and over and eventually it goes away, it doesn't seem like there's enough to brush, just a light haze of white salt that's been absorbed by the concrete........wish there was a easier way???

Wow..!! you helped me out big time. Some of my indoor brick wall get them and i just vacuum it away. Thought it was mould 😅

For the first time I've experienced efflorescence between my floor tiles. I've tried to get it up but it seems like I'm going to need a new floor.

Yeah but what can I do when this happens on my house walls which is neverending and it destroys paint, it's a pain in the ass

I have that stuff coming through due to water outside. If I deal the inside will that stop it ? I mean obviously outside is a big issue but we’re talking about a rented space and I just need to keep it out. No I’m not a crappy landlord . I’m just a guy trying to help a friend.

Thanks Tim! If a basement has a lot of efflorescence up and down all the walls would u think that foundation needs some attention on the outside of the house like digging down and putting a better barrier to keep the moisture out?

Thank you so much for this explanation.

can this chemical be taken out of the cement mixture so you do have this issue? I dont see the reason for this chemical if it causes these issues. Please clarify if you can thank you

I have efflorescence in my garage and the concrete is deteriorating. What am I supposed to do? I am worried.

Tim, what about when we build a home newly and want to avoid at the start itself?

Thank you that gave me peace of mind.

Thanks for the informative video. I find the efflorescence, as you showed, where cracks are in my garage floors. I tried sealing the cracks with concrete caulk sealer & I then used a concrete waterproof sealer on the whole floor, but the efflorescence came back. Since some cracks are fine, do you think it would help if I got a grinding tool to open the cracks to where I can properly fill them all? Would it help to reseal the floor with sealer? I feel the floor needs it because it would lessen the deterioration of the floor from winter salt deposits from my car.

hi very helpfull thanks, i am buying a house and found effloresensce in basement posts, so is this something in need to be concerned about ? do i need to be worried about structural damage etc ? thx will the salt ever come out entirele from masonry and damage the masonry ? thx

I have a rock collection at home, and I keep seeing efflorescence on the rocks and I wipe it off and clean the rocks but it keeps coming back anyway is there anything I can do about it?

Very nice explanation. After brick masonry work when efflorecence happens should I keep the brick walls unplastered to come out the salts or plastering should be done immediately?

Thank you for that information it was very helpful.

Mine is actually in the cement. It cannot be brushed away. I cannot get rid of it. It looks ugly

Can these salt things form between window panes? I have a window with dried white stuff all over the inside of the panes. It has never changed appearance in 5 years. I didn't think it was mold because I always thought mold was black and mold grows. This has stayed the exact same way in five years. Could this be what you are describing? Thanks much

I get this in my garage concrete, is it a bad thing to put a floor mat over it ?

Our garage floor constantly seeps this stuff and where we live is quite dry. I assume that means that there’s water seeps under there.

would you please be able to write how to get rid of cement milk stains on architecural concrete walls?

Thank you for sharing this great information!

Hi Tim, my wife and I just purchased a newly built home near wet lands, unfortunately the garage is full of this powder like substance that leaves footprints everywhere. Theirs also a mildew smell only in the garage. Does the efflorescence accompanied with smell make it worse?

Thank you so much for this video, this has been so helpful, I was panicking that I had mould 🙂

In the basement of my house the walls are 7 feet high the bottom two thirds are concrete and the top third is made of brick and mortar. There is a section of the brick in the corner of the wall that it is popping out and breaking apart. In this damaged area I find the efflorescence white material in the form of powder or crystals and there is no visible water, moisture or humidity on the wall, it looks totally dry. Also on the outside of the wall is the porch so there is no source of water and humidity coming from the outside. Could someone tell me why the bricks are popping out and breaking? . Also how to fix / prevent it, please

Does the formation of efflorescence means that the water/ moisture presence in a "plumbing leak affected wall" has dried up now? If so, how early that wall can be re-painted? PS: Plumbing leak issue has already been fixed.

You say it doesn’t hurt the stone. But there are big divets in my stone.. The house 25 years old and it still keep coming up.According to you the salt should exhaust itself from coming up. I wonder when?

Great job Tim! ill be watching you for all my tool tips now. :D

Just found some in my basement, was about to wash it away, thank god I found this video lol

Thanks. I have efflorescence coming through my block foundation that has been stuccoed...any advice on how to remove the unsightly lines from the stucco?

I got a mold problem on the inside of my outside wall iv had to keep my window open to stop it but it's slowly coming back as it's cold and my window is closed but now I have that Wight stuff on my wall as well as yellew and black mold iv had people out and thay filled my walls with blue balls that look like stirofome how do I stop all this altogether

Very informative information, thanks...

Thank so much! Which instore product would you recommend to remove efflorescence from laminate floors? Every diy mixture I've tried hasn't worked.

yeah well many basement walls have efflorescence (and some mold sometimes) due to what is open-cracked on the exterior such as what you see in this short video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Tq_o7C6KMUA.html exterior waterproofing done & backfilled correctly is the ONLY fix

Bless you, and thank you!

Hi, I have fiber cement siding and this efflorescence is building up on them. When I wipe over with a dry cloth it knocks some of it off but does not clean it completely leaving a noticeable white marks on my brown home. Any advice for cleaning? CLR was suggested to me but I am a bit worried about using that.

just good to know that it's harmless and does no damage . Thanks for the advice.

Can I email you for some of your suggestion on Egyptian limestone that I am having issues.