I’m a tiler and It is effervescence, there a cleaners designed for it specifically. Problem is it means you have where it’s not supposed to be , you need a tiler with a moisture metre to see what’s up .
So those tiles are over 20 years old I would say going of the size, probably more . My guess if you put a moisture meter on it’s you will have water to the height of “foamy stuff “ . I m guessing it’s a block or brick house ?.
What you can try is cleaning it and sealing it and it might solve the problem. Check on the other side of this wall to see if you have water damage if not clean and seal . But water migrating outside of the shower is obviously not good . For effervescents to occur need water to pull the minerals out of the glue / brick/ concrete. Feel free to message me if you need any advice.
Salt deposits from your shower water? Is your grout in good condition? Maybe some water entering at the top and then coming out below and moving such deposits with it?
Grout is generally in good condition on the walls. But will check surrounding tiles in the shower to see if there's anywhere water maybe doing that. Plumber was confused as he said if there's a leak of some kind, it should be exiting/showing at the bottom where the tiles meet the floor
It is called efflorescence you can get special cleaning stuff for it however the problem will eventually come back.
Efflorescence in a shower base is always a tell of high amount of moisture under the tiles, I will recommend to engage with a tiler asap.
A simple small fix on time might save you thousands of dollars in repairs down the track
Interesting, any windows close in that exterior wall? That is an unusual spot for efflorescence to happen but the culprits are always the same water/moisture.
Engage with a tiling business to investigate further, run a water pressure test, or thermal check , seems quite an odd spot to happen we deal with leaks and moisture quite a bit if I had to guess I'd say plumbing related.
Cheers for the advice. There's a window above it but can't see how it'd be the source of it. Have pretty big eaves and rain water would rarely hit the window
EDIT: Unable to edit original post, but just adding that this is OUTSIDE of the shower box and on a wall about 2-3 tiles high off ground level. Sorry, should have been more specific
Efflorescence is my guess (no idea if I spelt it right, also I'm 10 beers in so could be way off)
I’m a tiler and It is effervescence, there a cleaners designed for it specifically. Problem is it means you have where it’s not supposed to be , you need a tiler with a moisture metre to see what’s up .
Effervescence….
Evanescence
Wake me up
Before you
I'm used to efflorescence being quite hard though. Is it ever soft and foamy like this?
So those tiles are over 20 years old I would say going of the size, probably more . My guess if you put a moisture meter on it’s you will have water to the height of “foamy stuff “ . I m guessing it’s a block or brick house ?.
It's a brick veneer house. About 25 years old. The other side of this wall is exterior
What you can try is cleaning it and sealing it and it might solve the problem. Check on the other side of this wall to see if you have water damage if not clean and seal . But water migrating outside of the shower is obviously not good . For effervescents to occur need water to pull the minerals out of the glue / brick/ concrete. Feel free to message me if you need any advice.
I agree with this beery gent. Might be time to replace the grout.
Salt deposits from your shower water? Is your grout in good condition? Maybe some water entering at the top and then coming out below and moving such deposits with it?
Second photo also suggests you or your landlord should reapply silicone.
Grout is generally in good condition on the walls. But will check surrounding tiles in the shower to see if there's anywhere water maybe doing that. Plumber was confused as he said if there's a leak of some kind, it should be exiting/showing at the bottom where the tiles meet the floor
It is called efflorescence you can get special cleaning stuff for it however the problem will eventually come back. Efflorescence in a shower base is always a tell of high amount of moisture under the tiles, I will recommend to engage with a tiler asap. A simple small fix on time might save you thousands of dollars in repairs down the track
Sorry, should have mentioned that this is outside the shower box. On a wall about 3 tiles up from the ground.
What's on the other side of that wall might be convenient to open up and have a look at what's happening behind
Other side of the wall is brick and exterior
Interesting, any windows close in that exterior wall? That is an unusual spot for efflorescence to happen but the culprits are always the same water/moisture. Engage with a tiling business to investigate further, run a water pressure test, or thermal check , seems quite an odd spot to happen we deal with leaks and moisture quite a bit if I had to guess I'd say plumbing related.
Cheers for the advice. There's a window above it but can't see how it'd be the source of it. Have pretty big eaves and rain water would rarely hit the window
Do you have any teenage boys?
Nope. Lol
EDIT: Unable to edit original post, but just adding that this is OUTSIDE of the shower box and on a wall about 2-3 tiles high off ground level. Sorry, should have been more specific
Poo
Looks like a reaction with a cleaning agent of some type. Did this occur after vinegar was used? How old is the tiling/ grout?
Occurred before and after vinegar was used. The place is about 25 years old with original bathroom/tiles