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Alkaline poultice cleaners and strippers are commonly used for cleaning or degreasing
masonry surfaces and for paint removal. Sodium hydroxide is the most common alkaline
cleaning agent in proprietary cleaners for a range of masonry substrates, including limestone,
sandstone, brick and terracotta and is the most common ingredient in proprietary paint
removers. Care must be taken in the use of sodium hydroxide based cleaners to minimise risks
to the building and the user. Sodium hydroxide based cleaners and strippers must be
neutralised with acid afterwash. Adjacent, dissimilar building surfaces must be protected and
personal protective equipment worn by the cleaning operative. In the field of stone
conservation ammonium carbonate is added to clay and clay/paper poultices to remove soiling Site Map
from limestone. Ammonium carbonate is a less alkaline cleaner than sodium hydroxide. It
works by reacting with calcium sulphate on the soiled surface to form calcium carbonate and © Cathedral Communications
soluble ammonium sulphate that can be rinsed off with water. Limited 2010
These 'active' or 'chemical' poultices are all applied to a pre-wetted surface to minimise
penetration of the chemical into the masonry surface and covered with plastic film to prevent
Trial cleaning of a detail on a 19th
the poultice drying out. The cleaning additives in these mixtures chemically dissolve the soiling
century cement stucco facade using
ammonium carbonate in a clay and
paper fibre poultice. or staining which is held to the surface of the poultice, and then both the cleaning agent and
the contaminant are removed with the clay. Rinsing with water and, where necessary
neutralisation, follows to remove any soiling that remains on the surface and also to remove
residues of the chemical cleaners. Strictly speaking these materials are clay-based cleaning packs rather than true
poultices, but the word poultice is now widely used in the building cleaning industry.
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and in this way function like packs, not true poultices. Other more specialist cleaning packs
may be developed for particular cleaning problems on sculpture or decorative masonry detail.
One poultice developed for the cleaning of limestone is the hot lime poultice credited to
Professor Robert Baker and initially used at Wells Cathedral. Hot slaked lime is highly alkaline
and softened the black soiling deposits and the 'sulphate' crust on the limestone. Although
successful to some degree this method is difficult to control and non-selective and is now
rarely used, even in the field of stone conservation. The 'Mora Poultice' including ammonium
and sodium bicarbonate, EDTA and a surfactant in a CMC gel is still sometimes used for
limestone.
DESALINATION
Application of a hot lime poultice to
heavily soiled limestone sculpture
Clay poultices, traditionally of either sepiolite or attapulgite clay, with fine particle sizes in the
range of 50mm, have been the usual choice for desalination of historic masonry suffering from soluble salt-related decay.
The depth and degree of salt contamination should be understood at the outset of the operation through drilling of
masonry to obtain samples at various depths for analysis of the types of salt present and their content. Pre-wetting with
sprays must be sufficient for water to reach and mobilise salts in the heart of the masonry, depending on the depth of
contamination. The clay will need to be applied with wire mesh or other reinforcement. Once the poultice has dried out
the clay can be removed and a sample must be checked for salt content. This procedure should be repeated until the salt
levels are significantly reduced. This procedure can take a long time and periods of months rather than weeks should be
anticipated for large-scale and thorough desalination of masonry walls. It should be noted that dry clay powders are
potentially hazardous substances and must be used with adequate personal protection, mainly to prevent inhalation of
the fine particles.
Poultices can be used in combination with other cleaning methods. For example, a sodium hydroxide based poultice
might be used to soften and remove heavy soiling and black 'carbon' deposits on the underside of cornices and other
projecting detail before using a gentle wet abrasive, or possibly a water cleaning method, to clean the remaining areas of
lighter soiling on the facade. This combination of cleaning methods on one facade can often provide more control,
removing heavy soiling to decorative mouldings and enrichments with less risk of damage or over cleaning than using a
single cleaning method.
Poultices can also be used as the principal cleaning method to remove or reduce soiling on a facade. Poultice cleaning is
often selected for very detailed facades where more control and care is required in the cleaning procedure. Soiling that
has penetrated deep into the masonry substrate is often more easily removed by a poultice than by other cleaning
methods. Poultice cleaning can also be used as a post-cleaning treatment to remove areas of staining that may have
emerged following the general cleaning of the facade. Plain clay poultices will usually mobilise and remove water soluble
staining such as the brownish staining or discoloration sometimes left on Portland and other pale-coloured limestone
facades by water cleaning methods.
Incorrect use of chemical poultices can cause damage, for example by the mobilisation of new staining material in the
substrate or through inadequate neutralisation or rinsing. Adequate neutralisation or rinsing with clean water to remove
potentially damaging residues must follow any chemical cleaning procedure. All poultice materials must be used in
accordance with COSHH (Control of Hazardous Substances to Health) and CDM (Construction [Design and
Management]) regulations. Many cleaning products and items of cleaning equipment are available to registered or
approved users only and material data sheets for all products used must be obtained and consulted.
Site trials are essential prior to any facade cleaning programme to establish which method will be most effective and to
indicate the 'level of clean' that can be achieved without risk of damage to the masonry surface. In inexperienced hands
any cleaning agent or piece of cleaning equipment can cause damage to surfaces. The cleaning of historic masonry
facades should only be carried out by suitably qualified masonry conservation specialists, from the specification stage
through site trials and execution of the work.
Recommended Reading
• C Andrew et al, Stonecleaning: A Guide for Practitioners, The Robert Gordon University and Historic Scotland, 1994
• C Andrew et al, Stone Cleaning in Scotland, 3 volumes with Research Summary and Literature Review, Historic
Scotland and the Robert Gordon Institute of Technology, 1992
• J Ashurst and F G Dimes, Conservation of Building and Decorative Stone, 2 volumes, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1990
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http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/poultices/poultice.htm 26/02/2011