White Powdery Thing on Tile Floor

[MMM]

There is white powdery thing forming on the tile floor from time to time (around the grout). I don't know what it is. The house is 38 years old. Anybody has knowledge of the white powdery thing? What is remedy? A good seal on the ground will do the trick?

Thanks so much

[Pumapayam]

There is white powdery thing forming on the tile floor from time to time (around the grout). I don't know what it is. The house is 38 years old. Anybody has knowledge of the white powdery thing? What is remedy? A good seal on the ground will do the trick?

Thanks so much

White mold, I get it in my garage sometimes through weeping, not the best thing to be around though.

[Guest Marty]

You got a moisture problem in your slab. The white powder is salt residue. The process is called Efflorescence

[jm1fd]

You got a moisture problem in your slab. The white powder is salt residue. The process is called Efflorescence

Yep. I was going to guess salt as well.

[MMM]

Thanks for answer....Any remedy to correct it? Adding a humidifier will help

[Guest Marty]

Does your yard have good drainage ?

[MMM]

I really can't tell if the drainage system works well or not. I don't see any undrained water around the house or in the yard after an hour of a heavy rain, but I am not sure if it is a sign that I don't have drainage problem. Is there any good anyway to clean the salt residue

[TheNiche]

I really can't tell if the drainage system works well or not. I don't see any undrained water around the house or in the yard after an hour of a heavy rain, but I am not sure if it is a sign that I don't have drainage problem. Is there any good anyway to clean the salt residue

Mopping doesn't work?

[MMM]

mopping can wipe off the white powder, but the tile lost its shine as well. The white power seems to be corrosive as well, because some tile surface (the glaze) get loose

[jm1fd]

Thanks for answer....Any remedy to correct it? Adding a humidifier will help

Adding a humidifier will make it worse. A dehumidifier won't help either.

As mentioned, you probably have a drainage problem....for some reason, the slab is absorbing lots of moisture, and it is coming up through the tile/grout.

[musicman]

resealing a slab is ridiculously expensive....you better check underneath your carpets as well to see if they are absorbing moisture. i know this happened to a friend of mine whose house had foundation problems corrected. well, they cut holes in the foundation and didn't seal them when done. water was wicked up and absorbed in the floor/carpets. this is a case where the moisture barrier was compromised. did you have any work done>?

i'm not saying that's your problem...but you better check.

i think the white powder is lime leaching from the concrete not salt.

[MMM]

We moved to this house last year. Everything is great except the white powder. We don't have carpet in the house, tile floor in dinning, living, and kitchen, wood floor in all bed rooms. We have a lot of trees and shrubs around the house. Will they be the causes for excessive moisture in the foundation?

Since the white power is kind of corrosive to the tile surface, are there any ways to buff the tile and make it look better? I know I have to doing extensive drainage work to correct the problem, which will take time and be expensive. Are there any quick and cheaper ways to fix the floor and make it look nicer?

If I decide to re-do the floor, how should I correct the moisture problem?

Thanks for all your replies, great help

[Guest Marty]

Sometimes French Drains help. It may take a year for the slab to wick out. I think all the rain we've had in the last year has a lot to do with the situation.

[musicman]

We moved to this house last year. Everything is great except the white powder. We don't have carpet in the house, tile floor in dinning, living, and kitchen, wood floor in all bed rooms. We have a lot of trees and shrubs around the house. Will they be the causes for excessive moisture in the foundation?

Since the white power is kind of corrosive to the tile surface, are there any ways to buff the tile and make it look better? I know I have to doing extensive drainage work to correct the problem, which will take time and be expensive. Are there any quick and cheaper ways to fix the floor and make it look nicer?

If I decide to re-do the floor, how should I correct the moisture problem?

Thanks for all your replies, great help

my friend who was in the house where the foundation work was done, really knows his stuff. he had at least 4 companies come out to give bids to correct the problem. if i'm not mistaken it was over 10k. after some long research he ordered the product and did the work himself over a yr period. it involved sanding the floors and then sealing them several times.

i think that since you have the wood floor, hopefully it is tarred well so you won't have problems there. +

a french drain system/gutters may be necessary as well

so is this happening everywhere you have tiled floors or is it isolated?

[MMM]

Thanks Musicman.

The wood floor in the bed room is quite new, and we installed it just a month ago. When we tear off the carpet, the concret floor underneath looks fine. I did a simple moisture test, and it seems to be fine. We put double layers of the moisture barrier, so I hope the floor will hold its shape well.

The white powder is not every where in the living room, and a couple rows close to the entrance is the worst. The other areas just have a few spots. I didn't see any in the kitchen and dinning room, thank god.

I think I have to repair the grout, since some of them are in bad shape. I just don't know how to buff the tile surface to make them look shine. After removing the white powder, the tile lost its shine of glaze. You mentioned your friend sand them. Did he sand them with very fine sand paper (my guess), or some other scrubbing materials? Can I seal the floor with the grout sealer sold in Home Depot?

[musicman]

he didn't sand the tile floors he sanded the concrete foundation so he could put down the sealant.

i really am not someone who's knowledgable on tile restoration etc.

the white residue coming up thru the grout amazes me. did you put down the tile? with you mentioning the worst spot is by the door, i was wondering whether the floor there stays kind of wet from foot traffic? not sure but i might try a little bleach on the grout to see if it may be mold instead of lime leaching.

[Guest Marty]

I say its salt, Musicman says lime. I think we need a taste test triple M

[jm1fd]

We moved to this house last year. Everything is great except the white powder. We don't have carpet in the house, tile floor in dinning, living, and kitchen, wood floor in all bed rooms. We have a lot of trees and shrubs around the house. Will they be the causes for excessive moisture in the foundation?

Since the white power is kind of corrosive to the tile surface, are there any ways to buff the tile and make it look better? I know I have to doing extensive drainage work to correct the problem, which will take time and be expensive. Are there any quick and cheaper ways to fix the floor and make it look nicer?

If I decide to re-do the floor, how should I correct the moisture problem?

Thanks for all your replies, great help

It will probably RUIN the wood floors if left untreated for any length of time.

The trees and shrubs around the house should actually HELP, espescially if the trees are large. Trees pull A LOT of moisture out of the soil. Of course if you have a recently created drainage issue, then the trees could very well drown if there is enough standing water for enough time.

[Wide Eye]

resealing a slab is ridiculously expensive....you better check underneath your carpets as well to see if they are absorbing moisture. i know this happened to a friend of mine whose house had foundation problems corrected. well, they cut holes in the foundation and didn't seal them when done. water was wicked up and absorbed in the floor/carpets. this is a case where the moisture barrier was compromised. did you have any work done>?

i'm not saying that's your problem...but you better check.

i think the white powder is lime leaching from the concrete not salt.

I actually noticed the same thing in my house. After we removed the carpet, we made small dents/holes on the concrete floor. After a few weeks, I saw white powder and cotton kind of things growing out of the holes. Bleach works for only 12 hours, maybe. Our house had foundation fixed about 10 years ago. I don't know whether that has anything to do with this. Any ideas?

[musicman]

I actually noticed the same thing in my house. After we removed the carpet, we made small dents/holes on the concrete floor. After a few weeks, I saw white powder and cotton kind of things growing out of the holes. Bleach works for only 12 hours, maybe. Our house had foundation fixed about 10 years ago. I don't know whether that has anything to do with this. Any ideas?

I finally found my friend who has been "correcting" the problem. foundation work was done on his home prior to his purchasing it. He told me that most if no companies seal the concrete back up after doing interior piers which is where the problem originates from. this allows water to wick up the concrete. He initially noticed is carpet had a slight moisture feeling while walking without shoes.

the white powder is definitely a sign of a broken vapor on the foundation.

After extensive research, he used a product called Sani-Tred 866-784-3308.

He also said that if you'd like to talk to him he would be more than willing to offer suggestions and why he chose that specific product. Just PM and i'll give you his work number.

He said the few companies that do the work use other less reliable products and won't guarantee anything. I know one bid was 10000 with no guarantee.

[Wide Eye]

I finally found my friend who has been "correcting" the problem. foundation work was done on his home prior to his purchasing it. He told me that most if no companies seal the concrete back up after doing interior piers which is where the problem originates from. this allows water to wick up the concrete. He initially noticed is carpet had a slight moisture feeling while walking without shoes.

the white powder is definitely a sign of a broken vapor on the foundation.

After extensive research, he used a product called Sani-Tred 866-784-3308.

He also said that if you'd like to talk to him he would be more than willing to offer suggestions and why he chose that specific product. Just PM and i'll give you his work number.

He said the few companies that do the work use other less reliable products and won't guarantee anything. I know one bid was 10000 with no guarantee.

musicman, it's very nice of you to offer the help. We really appreciate that. Although we finally managed to fix the concrete by ourselves (filled the small holes and sealed the concrete floor), your friend's experience made me feel more confident that what we did was right. I think the white powder is some kind of salt. After we sealed the floor, as long as no moisture comes through, there shouldn't be more salt building-up. I just love this website as a lot of kind people like you always ready to help out