How to Clean Old Brick Walls

How to Clean Old Brick Walls
Written By
Kimbry Parker
Kimbry Parker
Published: Apr 6, 2010
Updated: Nov 20, 2021
2 minute read

Things You Will Need

  • Feather duster or vacuum cleaner with hose attachment
  • Garden hose
  • Two buckets
  • 1/2 cup clear dish soap
  • Rags
  • Old toothbrush
  • Table salt
  • Bowl
  • Spoon

Whether you have old brick walls are inside or outside of your home, keep them clean to preserve the beauty of the brick.

    use a vacuum to remove dust from interior brick walls
  1. Dust off the brick. Use a feather duster or vacuum cleaner hose attachment to remove loose dust and dirt from interior brick walls. Rinse exterior brick walls with plain water from the garden hose.

  2. None
  3. Fill a bucket with 3 gallons warm water. Add 1/2 cup clear dish soap to the water. Use your hands to mix up the soap and water. Fill a separate bucket with 3 gallons of plain, warm water if you are cleaning interior brick. Exterior brick cleaning does not require the use of the second bucket of plain water.

  4. begin at the top of the wall
  5. Start cleaning at the top of the brick wall, working your way toward the bottom. Clean the wall in sections of about 3 to 5 feet.

  6. Dip a rag into the bucket of soapy water. Wring out the rag well.

  7. use an old toothbrush to clean mortar between bricks
  8. Scrub the bricks with the rag and soapy water. Rinse and wring out the rag often while cleaning. Use an old toothbrush dipped in the bucket of soapy water to clean the mortar between the bricks.

  9. rinse exterior bricks with a garden hose
  10. Rinse interior brick walls with a rag dipped in a bucket of plain water. Rinse and wring out the rag often to avoid reapplying dirt and soap to the walls. Rinse exterior brick walls with plain water from your garden hose, rinsing from the top of the wall toward the bottom. Allow the brick walls to air dry.

  11. add salt to liquid dish soap to create a cleaning cream
  12. Use a salt and soap cream as an alternative method for cleaning brick walls. Mix equal parts liquid dish soap and table salt into a bowl. Stir the ingredients well with a spoon. Dip a rag into the bowl, and scrub the mixture onto the brick walls. Allow it to sit on the walls for 10 minutes, then rinse with a rag and plain water, or water from a garden hose if the walls are outside.

Photo Credits

Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images

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Dmitry Souharevsky/iStock/Getty Images

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Kimbry Parker

Kimbry Parker has been writing since 1998 and has published content on various websites. Parker has experience writing on a variety of topics such as health, parenting, home improvement and decorating. She is a graduate of Purdue…

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