Calgary brick cleaning for facades, chimneys and retaining walls
Lichen and algae killed at the cell wall, mortar haze and white efflorescence lifted, surface rinsed without blasting the mortar joints. Soft-wash chemistry at under 1,500 PSI with a 40-degree fan tip keeps the brick face and the joints intact. Most Calgary brick jobs land between $300 and $800 depending on wall height and substrate condition.
Brick is hard, mortar is soft — the wash has to respect the difference
The mistake most homeowners see on a damaged brick wall is mortar joints chewed out by a 4,000 PSI tip held at an angle. Brick can take pressure that mortar cannot, and the pressure that flakes algae off a brick face will tear mortar out of a 50-year-old joint. The right method is the opposite — chemistry-led, pressure-restricted. The soft-wash mix kills the lichen and the algae, the surfactant lifts the dead matter, and a 40-degree fan tip held a foot back from the wall does the rinse without driving water into the mortar.
For heavier work — a wall with active efflorescence, mortar haze from a recent re-point, or paint that the previous owner spray-bombed — the chemistry shifts to a buffered acid wash or a specialty paint stripper, both of which need pre-testing on a hidden section before the main work goes ahead. Pair brick cleaning with siding cleaning when the home is mixed brick-and-siding or with sealing services when the wall is ready for a fresh penetrating sealer.
Recent work
How a Calgary brick clean runs
Four steps from joint check to dry wall
Joint check and pre-test
Walk the wall, identify failed or hairline-cracked mortar joints that need pre-attention from a mason, run a small chemistry test patch on a hidden section if the substrate is unusual or has paint.
Soft-wash application
Low-pressure broadcast of the substrate-matched mix — standard sodium hypochlorite plus surfactant for biological growth, buffered acid for efflorescence and mortar haze, paint stripper if removal is the scope.
Dwell time
Five to fifteen minutes depending on the depth of the growth or the staining. North-facing walls with deep lichen get the longest dwell, recent-construction efflorescence the shortest.
Rinse, walkaround, invoice
40-degree fan tip at the right standoff distance, full wall rinse top-down, walkaround with you to confirm uniform colour and intact joints. Invoice matches the quote.
Calgary brick realities
Chinook freeze, north-facing lichen and the older mortar problem
Calgary brick is mostly from the 1950s through the 1980s, with older mortar in the inner-city neighbourhoods (Mount Royal, Bridgeland, Renfrew, Inglewood) where the joints are softer and the cement-lime mix is more sensitive. Chinook freeze-thaw works moisture into hairline mortar cracks; lichen grows on the north and east-facing walls where the wall stays cool and damp; efflorescence shows up after a wet spring when soluble salts migrate from inside the wall. None of that comes off without the right chemistry, and the wrong pressure makes it worse.
We pair brick cleaning with house washing on mixed-substrate envelopes (brick on the lower levels, siding above), with wall cleaning for retaining walls and garden walls, or with the sealing services when the homeowner wants a fresh penetrating sealer applied to lock the colour in.
Written quotesPricing
Annual + as-neededCadence
Hartford brick cleaningStandard
Pair brick cleaning with
Other masonry and envelope services on the same visit
Brick work pairs cleanly with the rest of the envelope. When the soft-wash truck is already on site, mixed-substrate work shares the equipment set-up.
Cleaning is the surface-level pass — soft-wash chemistry plus a low-pressure rinse to clear lichen, algae, mortar haze and surface efflorescence. Restoration is a heavier project — repointing failed mortar joints, replacing spalled bricks, sometimes a sealer pass at the end. We do the cleaning end. Restoration mortar work goes to a masonry contractor; we will name one if needed.
Not at the right PSI and tip. Mortar is softer than brick, so the wash needs to stay under 1,500 PSI at the face with a 40-degree fan tip held a foot back from the wall. We never aim a 0-degree or 15-degree tip at brick. Done correctly, the soft-wash chemistry does the heavy lifting and the rinse just takes the dead matter down the wall. Mortar stays intact.
Paint removal is a different service from cleaning — it needs a chemical paint stripper, which we will pre-test on a hidden section to confirm the brick will not stain afterwards. Whitewash (the historic lime-based finish on older Calgary brick) is harder to remove cleanly; sometimes the right call is to leave it and seal over it. We will tell you straight at the visit which approach makes sense for your wall.
Efflorescence (the white salt deposits that migrate to the brick face from inside the wall) is treated with a buffered phosphoric or muriatic acid wash plus a thorough rinse. It usually clears on the first visit, but it can return if there is an active moisture source (a leaking gutter, a poor flashing detail). We will flag the moisture cause if we see it so you can address it before the next clean.
Exterior chimney brick is the same as any other brick face — soft-wash from the ground or a roof set-up, careful with the flashing at the roof-to-chimney joint. Interior brick fireplaces are a different service — we use a low-moisture chemistry plus careful damp-cloth removal so the indoor space does not pick up wash residue. Heavy creosote staining on interior brick needs a specialty product; we will quote that separately.
Calgary brick cleaning reviews
What homeowners say after the masonry wash
★★★★★4.9· 75 reviews on Google
★★★★★
1962 brick bungalow in Mount Royal. The mortar was original and I was nervous about anyone pressure-washing it. Hartford pre-tested in a hidden corner, used the soft-wash mix and the 40-degree tip. Joints intact, lichen gone. Booked them again for next year.
T. R.
Calgary · Mount Royal
★★★★★
Inglewood front facade had heavy efflorescence after the wet spring. The buffered acid wash cleared it in one visit, the crew flagged a leaking gutter that was the moisture source. Honest work, no upsell on the gutter fix.
G. M.
Calgary · Inglewood
★★★★★
Chimney brick had lichen at the upper third where the roof-line shade keeps it damp. Crew worked from a ladder, no one stood on the chimney, the soft-wash dwell did the work. Clear view from the street again.
W. C.
Calgary · Bridgeland
★★★★★
Retaining wall around the back terrace had moss growing into the mortar. They walked me through the chemistry, did the test patch and the wall came back to original colour. Booked them for the front brick next.
P. A.
Calgary · Renfrew
From the blog
Brick cleaning, mortar care and masonry guides
Free written estimate
Get your Calgary brick cleaning quote in writing
Tell us the wall scope (facade, chimney, retaining wall), the brick age if you know it and whether there is paint or efflorescence to deal with. A Hartford estimator follows up within one business day. Most jobs land in the $300 to $800 range.
