Crystals growing out of the plaster on an outside wall!!

[Mulan]

I moved some furniture today and found crystals and lots of powdered plaster all over the wall and floor on an outside wall. I think the water sprinkler used to hit the brick wall on the outside. Is this an ongoing problem or will keeping water away from the brick solve the problem? I have a lot of patching to do :-(

[Mike Paulsen]

The stuff you're seeing is what's left when water picks up soluble salts as it moves through the plaster and then leaves the salts on the surface as it evaporates. This is called bloom or efflorescence. (Not to be confused with effervescence.)

There are products which will help remove the efflorescence from the surface of the plaster if dry brushing or wet brushing doesn't work.

Keeping water off the brick will probably solve this unless you have continued problems with moisture in the wall from other sources.

[William.Deans]

Greetings,

If you do continue to have a problem consider covering the wall with FRP or furring it out. Sometimes this is the easiest way.

Hope this helps, William Deans