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Efflorescence is a white crystalline deposit that can form on surfaces of concrete, stucco, brick or masonry. These deposits are water-soluble salts that come from the ground. For water to carry or move the salts to the surface there must be channels through which to migrate in a process called capillarity. Porous materials enable the salt to be transported with greater ease. When ground water, containing salts reach the surface of the structure, the water evaporates into the air, and the result is efflorescence.
Any building materials in direct contact with the earth are potential sources for efflorescence. Low absorption is the best assurance against efflorescence.
Ninety percent of your problem is moisture and capillarity. The moisture carries the salts to the surface through channels in the concrete. Without moisture as a carrier, the efflorescence would remain unseen below ground. Seal-It’s Concrete Sealant provides a barrier to the migration of moisture, because it penetrates into the concrete, where it reacts with the alkali and forms a hydrostatic head. The moisture, or carrier, of the alkali is stopped, preventing the efflorescence from surfacing and causing deterioration of the concrete.
Efflorescence and seepage are situations with many variables; therefore we recommend the advice and services of SEAL-IT when dealing with these and similar conditions.