Cleaning stone and plaster

[ali-cat]

We have are just moving into our new house.  The house was restored 15 years ago and the interior walls are a combintion on pierre apparent (interior) walls and dry lined exterior facing walls covered in what the surveyor describes as chaux - although these walls are a regular textured self-coloured surface (but very soft as even slight grazes with furniture leaves grooves).  There is also a nice Charentaise stone fireplace in the salon.

The problem is that the previous owners were chain smokers and all of the stone surfaces are stained with 15 years worth of nicotine.  Can't be too critical as we smoke ourselves but not in the house.  Can anyone recommend a good way to clean stone surfaces (short of sand blasting as we have now moved in).  Also,  assuming the plastered surfaces are chaux,  can these surfaces be painted or does chaux need to allowed to breathe?

Grateful for any suggestions.

[Bugsy]

Hi Ali-C,

I wouldn't blame all the grime on smoking, a lot of it is caused by woodfires. We used a product called "Nettoyant Pierre et Briques" pour cheminee. It comes in an aerosol and is very good at cleaning stonework. It's messy to use so cover everything up in the area you are treating and wear gloves etc. From memory we bought it from Weldons.

Congrates on your move, by the way.

[ali-cat]

Thanks bugbear.  The staining on the fireplace is no doubt due to the woodsmoke - but the yellow/brown walls in the kitchen are definitely nicotine!!  Mark took a damp piece of kitchen-roll to a brown plastic access cover (to what we don't know, yet!) & made a lovely white circle!!  The walls are terrible!! [+o(]

[Bugsy]

It's all part of the joy of new french ownership. Take photos, then you can sit back and have a laugh when it's all done. Our house took the best part of a year to clean and paint...  ..............................

[Skye]

You could decide to paint over the chaux which will ordinarily come off with a stiff brushing BUT it would be a pity to do so if you want to maintain the original character of your home. Chaux does breathe and is the best covering for old walls since it moves slightly with the movement of the house, is a natural fungicide and is very inexpensive if you need to re-do it again in a few years. It does have the drawback of being slightly chalky if it isn't applied properly in the first place but in low use areas like bedrooms I don't find this any problem, and in any case you can buy ready made chaux with added ingredients such as casein which improve adherence. If you're interested there's a number of good sites in the UK that explain chaux (limewash), one being periodproperty.co.uk  (which is also brilliant for a lot of other topics related to preserving and restoring old houses).

[Coco]

I didn't want to start a new thread as my question is so similar.  However, we have an area of about 3sq metres that we have left exposed on one wall of our barn conversion.  It is ingrained with 200 years worth of dirt and although my husband has had 2 or 3 good goes at wire-brushing it I think it is going to need something more than his extremely vigorous elbow grease.  We're in a similar position to Ali in that sand-blasting is no longer an option - open plan down to the finished kitchen!  Ours is a mixture of stone (don't know what kind - Manche stone!) and granite.  Any ideas?

Just how messy is this nettoyage pour pierres et bricques?  We don't mind localised mess as we haven't got any furniture up there yet and no flooring down - just can't face the invasive procedure of sand-blasting.

[hastobe]

Although messy it is possible to clean stone by sand blasting in an occupied house.  We have done it twice in our UK house - once to clean the stone wall in the kitchen and the other time to clean the stone inglenook fireplace.   We closed / taped off as much of the area as we possibly could, moved out anything that was delicate / sensitive to dust. Everything else we covered with sheets etc etc.  Then we did an awful lot of cleaning and dusting afterwards!  It was a pain but well worth hte finish we got.

Kathie

[tracteurtom]

Have you tried the brass wire brushes?  I find these very good for this type of work, but it is hard going.  You could also try a knotted wire brush in a drill or angle grinder.  The dust generated will be horrific using any power tool, I know from experience.  If that doesnt give you  the results your looking for then you are left with power washing and or sand blasting.  Chemical cleaning is a possible, not sure what you would use, but there are all sorts available in the supermarkets, some sort of acid maybe?  If its smoke damage (open fire smoke) then you are going to have to get very agressive to shift it and in truth, sand blasting is the only option.

Sorry thats not what you wanted to hear and no help whatsoever.  Its a pity the adverts on French TV for the miracle cleaners are way off from the truth - one wipe and that manky toilet is like new again!  I'm sure that kind of advert would be forbidden in the UK.

Good luck, its not going to be easy.

[Loiseau]

[quote user="ali-cat"]... yellow/brown walls in the kitchen are definitely nicotine!!  ...][/quote]

Actually, I have to confess that in my non-smoking household, the farther recesses of the kitchen can also acquire yellowy-brown gunk!  I think it has a lot to do with the grease-laden air in a much-used kitchen.

Stuff like a solution of washing soda gets rid of it quickest.  And there are various produits like Mr Muscle that are similar.

Angela

[muscoka]

I thought I would post this not necessarily as an answer to ali-cats problem though it may help but as a sort of fix all to any troublesome interior pierre apparent or chaux covering that has left the contour of the stone visible. It was suggested by our builder. I have tried and it does work. The technique will leave the look of exposed stone, is much easier for the inexperienced to carry out, is much cleaner to apply and it definitely cleaner to live with.

Mix 50% plasterboard adhesive and 50% plasterboard jointing compound and sprinkle into water while stirring until you achieve a souplike consistency. It needs to be painted on with a brush so thin enough for that.

Prepare the surface by brushing down and if very powdery then paint with PVA first.

Paint on the above mixture smoothing with the brush around the contour of the stones and into any ajoining walls be they plasterboard or anything else.  If you get any mixture on these be sure to wipe these quickly as it it hard to sand.  Leave to dry which will be quite quick. Then repeat the process. Possibly even a third time. The result will be very similar to a limewashed wall, will be very hard, and can be painted.

Good luck

Muscoka

[Northender]

I,ve used "Javel" (bleach) in the past to good effect.You obviously have to careful when applying it ( I use a fairly stiff handbrush.) plenty of protective clothing and goggles are a must.

You can get the concentrated stuff ( 11% compared to the normal 2% ) at most bricos , very cheaply.

 

[Collywobble]

Hi ali-cat,

If you are left with any residual stains, consider using peroxide.  NOT the stuff you dye hair with which is about 3%. ONLY use the 5% or better still 6%. You won't get this from a supermarket.(I know I'm shouting, but this is dangerous if not used correctly)[:)]

The good stuff will not 'bleach' material/clothes etc if used correctly.    Read the directions and follow the manufacturers instructions!

For stain removal, it is much safer than bleach (see above statement) as it evaporates and the only residue is water and perhaps some sludge from the offending substance that was causing the problem. 

Try and never use bleach outside the laundry and NEVER EVER use it to 'kill' mold outside of a bathroom. (it doesn't really kill it all, and then you are breathing in poison in addition to mold)

Up until recently I was doing mold inspections and certified by several testing labs. (We now do dry carpet cleaning, duct cleaning and odour removal) We frequently use peroxide to remove stains from carpet, with no damage caused to the carpet. (again, read the above comment)

BTW, good quality peroxide and a toothbrush is fantastic for cleaning the grout on floor tiles - even white grout that has gone black over time. Again not the cheap stuff from the local supermarket, as that WILL 'bleach' your carpets if it spills/runs.[;-)]

Food for thought.

cheers

[Coco]

SO where would you get this hgher concentration peroxide collywobble?

[Collywobble]

[quote user="Coco"]SO where would you get this hgher concentration peroxide collywobble?[/quote]

Usually from a professional cleaning supply company or a pharmacy. I would think that the latter would be more expensive and in smaller bottles.

Then again, larger bottles will 'off-gass' and be virtually just water if they are left for too long.

As I say it's potent stuff, but I just did a quick google on it to find a supplier (which I couldn't) but it appears on dozens of 'green' cleaning sites (EDIT) as a clean product to use instead of bleach for house cleaning/washing clothes etc which is interesting.

cheers