[gary evans]

Hi All

Just trying to find out if steam really can remove cement & mortar from bricks.

Just in the middle of supplying quote for pressure washing on new builds, heard that brick acid is to be banned from sites by hse any feedback if this is true or not.

Does anybody use steam cleaners for this, looked at one £15,000 this seems a lot but does it do job.

Gary

[keith b]

Gary,

In my opinion steam on its own will not remove cement/mortar stains, see if you can hire this £15,000 equipment first to test it.

The normal method is to use a diluted brick acid cleaner and plenty of clean water.

If your concered about HSE, then contact them direct to see whats in the pipe line.

[gary evans]

Keith

Thanks tor that i,ll contact them next week.

Concerning pressure washers you can buy from £2,500.00 to £18,000.00 what sort would you recommend hot or cold.

I,ve used cold before, but, never used hot seen demo looks fantastic but is a top of the range cold just as good but a fifth of the price of these.

Cheers

Gary

[keith b]

Gary,

I would go for a cold water pressure washer that churns out 15 litres per minute +, the good uns have got honda engines with a brass pump, then you can buy a seperate "hotbox" at a later date to give you hot water/steam!, (but do remember to contact your local water company about licenses & hose pipe bans)

Depending on what work you intend to do, I would also consider contacting the different Heritage organisations to see who they contract to for cleaning/renovation work on their buildings.
That way you can find out the sort of equipment/methods the big boys use before commiting yourself!

good luck

[Keith_Lalanne]

Gary

Karcher do an entry level steam pressure washer, HD601c, for around £1500 + VAT. If you use pressure strong enough to remove cement you will probably damage the brick face. You could try a cold water machine and inject abrasive media into the jet, this is very controllable and not terribly expensive. The kit costs around £150 again Karcher. Hope this helps.

Keith L-L