White substance o terracotta

[swindon]

Hi

Based over in Tenerife and 2 wks ago we had some real bad rain and hailstones.
Following this I have noticed the following -

A white powder covering balcony areas to apartments
The terraces are laid with terracotta tiles and it looks like a fine snow has settled
Very difficult to remove

The tiles have not been sealed so can anyone please tell me what has happened.

How do you clean and remove

[enduro]

Could be salt deposits from the rain, you could try a efflorescence cleaner that could work, try AQUAMIX EEF-EX cleaner worth a try.

[pjc]

or brick acid

[Leatherface]

Hi

Based over in Tenerife and 2 wks ago we had some real bad rain and hailstones.
Following this I have noticed the following -

A white powder covering balcony areas to apartments
The terraces are laid with terracotta tiles and it looks like a fine snow has settled
Very difficult to remove

The tiles have not been sealed so can anyone please tell me what has happened.

How do you clean and remove

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Whoops !!! Major error !!

Thought you said tiles had been sealed !!!

Ignore or remove this post !!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have seen this many times before

Primary example was for customer who had a limestone floor laid inside ( in a glass lean to, type conservatory )
moisture and damp ran down the outside walls ( i.e the walls that would have been outside, but now were inside because of the new glass )
Where the water and condensation had been settling on the limestone it left the same white deposit, very difficult to remove : the reason for this is because the wrong sealer has been used !!! If you care to check, most sealers will say on the bottle if they are suitable for outside use and constant wetting. !!!!
I did not seal these tiles, this was done by another tiler.
However I did seal the same type of tiles OUTSIDE with an appopriate sealer, 3 years later still no marks

To be fair to the guy who sealed the original ( black limestone ) floor inside the conservatory, he used what would have been the correct sealer if there had been no condensation and wetting dripping down the walls. The rest of the floor is still perfect.

[Dave]

As you state the tiles had not been sealed......

The tiles have not been sealed so can anyone please tell me what has happened.

I am likely to think the same as Enduro...salt deposits from the rain.....I wouldn't say it was Efflorescence as no contact is made with cement on the face of the tile...........

[doug boardley]

might sound daft, but were tiles kiln dried or sun dried?

[doug boardley]

I'm thinking calcium carbonate, extreme I know, is it just the ones you have laid recently or are neighbouring balconies plagued too?