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Correcting Salitre


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Guys, I realize this is a common topic on this forum.  And there is lots of information about salitre rearing its ugly head.  I realize that information on this forum can easily get outdated, especially with new techniques being developed every year.  We live next to an arroyo and have a beautiful green tropical style garden, due to those factors salitre is horrendous in our home but worse only on certain parts of the home and walls.  Last year we had a local handy man dig out the affected areas, refill them and paint the whole house.  The walls looked great for about two weeks then the salitre started to bubble out again to our horror.  I've heard it rumored that a Canadian guy who claims to be an expert who has a permanent fix for the problem lives in the area.  Most of the so called experts have a temporary fix that they guarantee for 3 to 4 years.  So, who are the best at fixing salitre and what has been people's most recent experiences with them.  Thanks.

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My handyman said its harde to stop t humidity (salitre), we found the bacterian in bricks, sand, water, etc. Just only control for a couple years, he fix my salitre problems, he make the job 3 years back and still looking good, and he fix in the last month the salitre problems in lake chapala baplist church and he make a great job. Suerte

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We had a house in Mazatlan that was over 140 yrs old and while we were lucky that we were not plagued with a lot of salitre, it is hard to avoid it in that climate, plus many used the sand right off the beach to mix into the concrete when building.  Youstill have to ASK for washed sand!  There was a product, sort of a Redi-mix that we used whenever a problem did crop up and we purchased it at Home Depot......called Emplaste.....just add water!  Our handy man would take off the old cement down to the brick...treat/spray the area  3 days with muriatic acid, then use an anti-salitre sealer, finally using the emplaste mix to refill the space and again using the sealer over the new dried area.  He would also use some sealer in the paint.  This seemed to work quite well for us up there.

Good luck!

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You will get a lot more information on this topic if you search the English equivalent to this problem - "efflorescence". Or in the U.K. it is often called "rising damp". It is caused by the use of non-waterproof concrete. River sand, and beach sand, no matter how carefully it is washed, is too small and rounded to produce a waterproof concrete. Crushed and sieved/graded sand must be used, preferably silica. By locking together in a sharp bond, this provides the backdrop to other waterproofing additives, which are certainly available in Mexico to concrete professionals.

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10 hours ago, FlyFree said:

This may be a good solution but can this product be purchased in Ajijic or Mexico?

Do you have any experience/success in using this product?

We are in the process of sampling to see the results and offer this product to our customers. Expect it soon on the ribera..

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You really can't get rid of it unless you tear your house down and start over with proper foundation work. Otherwise all you can do is fix patches here and there over the years.

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Trying to solve a salitre problem by treating the area where you see the salitre coming out your walls is like trying to cure obesity by loosening your belt. You have to find out where the moisture is getting in. It is wicking up or down your walls and appearing not where the problem is originating. You may have to dig up along the sides of your house, clean the foundation, and then waterproof or tar it to a few inches above ground level. Once you have treated the source of the problem, do not be in a big rush to scrape, reseal, and paint where the salitre is inside your house. The moisture will continue to come out for awhile. Keep cleaning it off, and when it stops appearing, then deal with the cosmetics.

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  • 1 month later...

Let me try this again, since in a week or two we want to try to tackle our salitre problem even if it will be a temporary fix.  We hope for at least a 3 to 4 year fix though.  What are some contact numbers for workers that have given really great results and seem to truly understand the root causes of salitre?  With the experiences from the readers of this board, who is the best and most knowledgeable person for the job?  Thanks!

That dryzone product looks really promising, maybe down the road after it becomes more available here and has been tested in proven on the houses in this area we may consider doing it.  It might be the only option to truly eliminate salitre from walls, short of tearing down your house and rebuilding it.

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Call Rully, He tell me its hard to kill the Salitre,  humidity, but you can control for 3 or more years, He have warranty for 3 or 4 years, You can ask Hem, and you can have the procest how is hes job Hes fixing now a salitre in Chula Vista Norte, 3334595533, Speak very good english, SUERTE.

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