Historic Brick Cleaning

Canada has a document called The Canadian Historic Places that outlines standards and guidelines for all historical conservation work done on sites across Canada. At Brickwash we adhere to these guidelines

Bricks are not manufactured to look weathered, dull or darkened black. Although some bricks are black, the majority of black brick homes are just extreme cases of Hydrocarbon exterior brick staining. The historic brick cleaning goal is to restore the bricks to their original colour and slow down the deterioration in a non-invasive manner.

The reason your bricks might be dull or darkened is due to hydrocarbon exterior brick staining. Hydrocarbon brick staining is caused by pollutants in the air being deposited onto the bricks. These stains can inhibit a bricks ability to breath which causes bricks to disintegrate over time. More over hydrocarbon stains darken the colour of the brick making them look weathered and unpleasent.

Removal of hydrocarbons from brick requires corrosive detergents. Protective measures is vital to protecting your property and neighbours. Covering of windows and doors, foliage etc are all steps we take to ensure a safe and clean brick cleaning experience.

Historic brick demands additional care. Simply pressure washing brick with high pressure or abrasive blasting like sand or soda blasting should never be used to clean historic brick, or any brick for that matter. To clean historic brick low pressure and detergent should always be used by a trained brick cleaner in toronto to ensure no damage becomes of the brick.

At Brickwash we use detergent assisted low pressure steam. Steam cleaning brick allows us to reduce water pressure and clean exterior brick stain and paint  with a higher level of effectiveness and reduced the risk. Our historic brick cleaning methods are inline with Canadian Conservation Standards and Guidelines