Salitre on ceiling bricks

[cedros 844]

What do people use these days for salitre on the ceiling bricks? On my last house they used muriatic acid and sandpaper. They wore gloves and masks.

[Mostlylost 1,087]

Muriatic acid 1 part ..water 4 parts should do it. Never used sandpaper. Use paint brush with minimum amount of mix.  I never needed mask. Gloves good idea 

[Kiko 461]

And eye protection glasses.

[RVGRINGO 2,008]

First: Roof repairs to correct the moisture in the ceiling below.

[mudgirl 2,045]

As RV says, totally pointless unless you've solved the moisture problem above. And then it's still pointless to treat the salitre right away after the moisture issue, as the dampness needs to be able to escape somewhere once the roof is well-sealed, so the salitre will just come right back. But if it's flaking off on your head, I can understand that it might be necessary to clean it off now, even if you have to do it again.

Once you do treat the salitre with the muriatic acid, you can apply a sin salitre product, which vary as to effectiveness. Some I've found useless-the one I like is the Sika brand.

[Upfront 285]

mudgirl is exactly right. in reality there is no point in sealing until long after the rains have gone and the bricks have baked dry in the sun. otherise you simply seal in the moisture which will further exacerbate the problem