George in Waltham, MA writes:
“I have recently found a white fuzzy substance on my basement foundation walls, what in the world could it be?”
Well, this is not an unusual situation. It can be on a basement foundation wall that is made out of concrete, block or stone. This is efflorescence. This is caused because concrete and mortar is porous. Water and water vapors are pushing inward on these structures. It is bringing the salt, minerals, and lime and bringing it forward. We see it quite often. Real estate brokers recommend getting that off only because it is unsightly. It is more of an aesthetics thing, it does not affect the structure of the house. But it should be taken off so that it looks better and doesn’t get hard and crystallized.
There are ways to get it off. If it isn’t too bad, you can brush it off. If it’s a little advanced you may need to use a wire brush to get it off. If it is really bad, you may have to sand blast, but that’s rare. There are chemicals we use that I don’t recommend homeowners using. But we do this all the time. It does make the foundation 100% better for those who are looking to buy your house.
For more information, contact A1 Foundation Crack Repair.