Lime Run is a hard white or grey surface crust that usually emanates from mortar joints or runs down from a hole or crack between brick and mortar joints. The way to differentiate between Lime Run and Efflorescence is that Lime Run does not disappear when wet.
It occurs when water deposited or collected in the wall during construction dissolves water-soluble calcium compounds in the brick or mortar. Over a prolonged period of time, the water migrates through openings in the wall surface and, as the water evaporates, the dissolved calcium reacts with the atmosphere to produce a hard calcium carbonate crust on the masonry surface.
Always clean Lime Run off as quickly as possible as the hard crust that is formed when it begins to carbonate is far harder to remove. We use a specially formulated, tried and tested cleaning agent to achieve the best possible results.
Prevention is far better than cure. There are a number of precautions that can be taken such as; protecting brick work from rainfall. making sure that mortar joints are fully filled so that water cannot collect in air pockets and ensuring correct installation of damp proof course or membrane.
We recently received a call from The Highways Agency seeking help with removing calcium carbonate deposits that had formed on the surface of the road, in the Newport tunnel on the M4.
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