White Powder On Concrete Garage Floor

When rubbing it between my fingers the substance feels soft dry and powdery.

White powder on concrete garage floor.

It does not feel grainy coarse or abrasive at. Picture 1 picture 2 if i touch the substance it moves easily does not stick to the concrete at all. When moisture and water vapor migrate to the surface of hardened concrete floors walls and colored concrete it carries with it calcium hydroxide. This is a very common occurrence.

Our contractor states this is a normal occurance but everything that sits on the floor. Concrete efflorescence is a very common problem on concrete especially decorative concrete. Efflorescence is the white powdery substance on the surfaces of unsealed concrete and the white blush seen with sealed floors. When the salt water evaporates it leaves a white powder called efflorescence.

The first thing to remember is cars carry in snow and ice slush on the underside of the car body. It drips onto the concrete floor seeping into cracks in the concrete. There is also an accumulation of powder near one side of the garage door where nothing in particular normally sits. When we place our car in the garage the snow and salt mixture melts.

There are two main causes for this. If the white powder is creating up on your concrete surfaces only then the substance is most likely not mold. Efflorescence is a white powder created when saltwater evaporates from a masonry surface like concrete. It s a very common problem in cold climates on garage floors.

The white powder is efflorescence or minerals left behind as water that has flowed through the concrete walls evaporates. Concrete can be stained when salts and other materials will come off the concrete surface. Calcium hydroxide or lime is formed by the hydration reaction between portland cement and water. The usually white powdery surface buildup you see near the cracks in the garage slab is most likely salts leaching out of the concrete.

The stains are normally white and are present in darker colors more than white or pale colors due to the contrast created by the chemical reaction. We have had a constant issue with our garage floor having an abundant amount of thick white powder substance. The first step in the process is drying out the wet conditions in the basement. Efflorescence is normally worn off or washed away on unsealed concrete surfaces.

Rarely will it cause a problem inside of your garage. Both can be cleaned. Efflorescence is caused by vapor migrating through the slab bringing soluble salts to the surface of the concrete.