Evening star., 1941-10-04
Godgets
Walls Protected
From Moisture
By Preparation
By HILSON MUNSEY.

When a brick or cement house
Is built. almost invariably the ap-
pearance is spoiled by efflorescence,
that white film that appears on
the surface and is so difficult
to remove or prevent. This con-
dition is caused by the dlssolving of
various salts in the cement by the
moisture in the atmosphere. After
they are dissolved they work their
way through the brickW ork, or
cement blocks, and appear as an
ugly white film on the surface.
The danger, however, is greater
than the mere spelling of the ap-
pearance of the house. AS the salts
are dissolved. the structure of the
cement becomes more porous. Then
the rain and snow get into the walls
and as freezing occurs the moisture
expands and starts a progressive
disintegration of the building. This
Is particularly true in districts on
the seashore, where the air itself
contains a large proportion Of salt.
To prevent the gradual and ulti-
mately inevitable ruin of the walls
by this process it is necessary to
prevent the water from getting into
the structure. To do this water
prooflng material is needed.
Unchanged Appearance.
There is a preparation sold that
will accomplish this result at a
relatively low cost. 1t is a clear
liquid that will not change in any
way the appearance or color of the
brickWork or the cement In can
be brushed on or sprayed and it
will penetrate quickly and deeply
into concrete, natural or cast stone,
wood, stucco. brick, mortar, plaster
or Wallboard. In fact, it is an
almost universal cure; it Waterproofs
materials by sealing them so that
they cannot be affected by mois-
ture
This material dries by the evapo-
ration of the volatile carrying agents,
leaving a pre-oxidized inert sub
stance covering the surface and also
penetrating the pores of the mate
rial to form a solid protection
against the elements. The surface
of the building will be wet after a
storm, but this moisture will evap-
crate quickly and will not penetrate
the masonry.
The coating, which the material
gives to the building, is flexible and
impervious to ordinary acids and
alkalies. Any stains that appear on
the surface are superficial and are
washed away by the next rainstorm.
Other Uses.
While this preparation is prima-
rily designed to overcome eff1ores-
cence, it has other purposes. Incl
dentally. it is better to apply it to
masonry soon after the work is COM
pleted and before effloreScence starts,
but the efflorescence, once started,
can be removed by scrubbing the
surface with the preparation to
remove it and then applying a pro-
tective coat.
One OF this preparations most
interesting uses is on plastered walls.
It is not necessary to wait for
months for the plaster 10 become
safe for decorating or painting. If
the green plaster is allowed 48 hours
for the surface to harden, the sealer
can be applied and over that the
paint or wallpaper.
In painting, also, this neutralizing
agent has its uses. 1t can be used
ss primer coat to seal the pores
of the wood and give greater cover
age to the paint coat, or it can
be used as final coat to protect
the surface of the paint from dete-
rioration and so lengthen its life In
either case, the result more than
justifies the original cost.
Insulating Plaster.
Air conditioning a house built
prior to the air conditioning age
often brings unpleasant results. One
Of these is the penetration of mois-
ture through the plaster walls. This
penetration can be considerably re-
duced by the use of an undercoat
that is designed. among other ad-
vantages. to take care of this con-
dition. This material has only half
the weight of the regular undercoat
of scratch and brown plaster. This
considerably reduces the load on
the floor joists. In addition, it has
much insulating value to add to the
regular insulation that most modern
structures enjoy. 1t has more than
twice the insulating value of ordi-
nary undercoats.
Another big advantage of this
undercoat is that it is very efficient
acoustically Both the insulating
and acoustical properties of the
plaster are due to its composition,
which Is largely Of. a form of mica
pellets. The material is also very
useful as fire retardent.
1t is easy to apply and needs only
the addition of sufficient quantity
of water before it is ready for
working.
Note-For further '"ta" about
the products described above
write Mr.. Munsey, In care of The
Star. and inclose a stamped, self
addressed envelope.