I have decided efflorescence should be put into the category of "four letter words" because it just offends me. It offends me that it keeps coming back on my brick patio and under my deck. I find myself upset that despite my efforts to wipe efflorescence from my life, it returns to taunt me.
Efflorescence is the leeching of salts from stone or brick to the surface, which leaves an unsightly white film on the top. It can be so bad that red brick can look like it's been salted down for an icy winter storm. And we have it.
I've been trying to battle it, but I've been constrained. The best way to remove it is to use muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to remove it. If you're familiar with this caustic substance, you may know that it's not, shall we say, a fun or safe substance to mess with. Aside from keeping it away from you, your eyes and skin, you have to cover up all metal surfaces near it because the gasses from it chemically reacting with substances will etch into the metal.
Pregnant. Not a good time to slop acid around with a mop. Babies. Better to have them far elsewhere while the job is being done. Winter. Not the most fun time to be outside in the cold, trying to get white stains gone that no one will be outside to see for months. But the time has come, and I'm outside combating it again during nap times.
There is power washing that happens after the treating. That removes lots of the sand between the pavers. So then I have to sweep in layers of sand to refill the cracks. Oh, then you have to get the remaining sand washed off. Now, with all those steps done, I'm waiting for the bricks to dry for two days and I'm going to water seal them in the hopes the problem will be reduced over the next year.
I did find something my son is great at during all these steps. He loves to sweep. But he has no direction in his sweeping. But when you're trying to get sand into cracks between bricks, sweeping in random directions is a useful skill, not a hindrance. He was very helpful.
The Big Boy Update: Barrage of Words. Slow down little guy! He is talking and talking and using all the words he knows and trying to tell stories and generally communicate. And he's really telling you something. It's not babble so much as it's words we don't understand. Do his sounds slowly crystallize into words or do we start to figure out what he's saying next?
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Paying attention. She is very good at paying attention. She has this piercing look when she's trying to figure something out. She doesn't smile at strangers initially because she's checking them out initially. Once you've been processed, she grins like a Cheshire cat at you. This evening my husband was playing with a hand puppet. My son watched the puppet and laughed and laughed. She watched and laughed too, but she took turns looking at the puppet and my husband's face and mouth because she was trying to figure out what was going on.
Fitness Update: Out of hair purgatory. I had a keratin treatment put on my hair three days ago. It's a great process that calms down my friz and generally makes my hair easy and fun to deal with for months. But the initial three days is tough. You can't wash it for 72 hours. You can't put it up because it will remember the band and you could be stuck with a wump for a long time. Oh, and if your hair gets wet in any way, you have to blow dry it, then flat iron it. So running for over an hour, coming home with drenched, sweaty hair you can't wash for another two days is not fun. I spent a lot of time blow drying. I did bike riding, multiple runs, power washing, and oh, it's been over ninety degrees outside. I wore a shower cap when I was outside and I looked super stylish to the construction workers next door. When I finally washed it this afternoon, I think I lost a half pound in dried sweat on my head. But... my hair looks great, so it was worth it.
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