# Forum Home Renovation Tiling  Removing tile cement from bricks

## Dimma35

Hi all!
         Just new to the site and is my first post. 
  I removed some old tiles from my kitchen wall. Behind the tiles is brick. As the whole wall is brick I would like to keep the brick look instead of putting tiles back over it. I've tried to remove the cement by wire brush on a drill. As this does get some off it is very messy and also as the bricks are quite rough it doesnt get it all off. The are about 40 bricks so a bit of work. Does anybody know of a cleaner or acid that might desolve the cement without hurting the bricks? I really need help as its been there over a year and looks really ugly!! Thanks Damien  :Cry:

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## GeoffW1

Hi, 
Well, cement mortar can be weakened by 1:20 hydrochloric acid (pool acid) to water (always add acid to water, not the reverse). Some might say 1:10 for faster action, but IMHO that is too strong for safety. 
Wear good all-round safety glasses too, or better still a face shield. 
Paint the solution onto the cement and allow it to act for 30 min or so. If possible hose it down, or if not, sponge down with a wet sponge. 
You could then try that strong wire brush wheel in a power drill. A repeat treatment might be needed. 
If it is not cement but proprietary tile adhesive I think it would have to be removed by mechanical means such as a needle gun.  http://www.akromultihire.co.uk/image...llsize/379.jpg 
Cheers

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## hadiya

Hold your chisel up, pressing it into the mortar. Start in the upper left-hand corner, working your way to the right.Tap on the end of the chisel lightly with the hammer. Continue tapping on the chisel until the majority of the mortar is gone. Move your chisel to the right and continue hammer the mortar off. Brush the top part of the block with the steel brush. This will shave off any left over mortar around the block. Use heavy pressure as you brush the block until there is no mortar left.

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## Dimma35

> Hi, 
> Well, cement mortar can be weakened by 1:20 hydrochloric acid (pool acid) to water (always add acid to water, not the reverse). Some might say 1:10 for faster action, but IMHO that is too strong for safety. 
> Wear good all-round safety glasses too, or better still a face shield. 
> Paint the solution onto the cement and allow it to act for 30 min or so. If possible hose it down, or if not, sponge down with a wet sponge. 
> You could then try that strong wire brush wheel in a power drill. A repeat treatment might be needed. 
> If it is not cement but proprietary tile adhesive I think it would have to be removed by mechanical means such as a needle gun.  http://www.akromultihire.co.uk/image...llsize/379.jpg 
> Cheers

  Thanks Geoff for the advice. I will try both methods and see how i go! Thanks!!!

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