Limestone Foundation in Historical Home

[Alice]

I live in a house built in the 1800's. There is a basement with large chunks of limestone that forms the foundation. The floor was concreted at sometime in the past.

My problem is that the limestone is extremely dirty and flakes tiny pieces all over everything. I understand from reading other posts that I can't use a waterproof paint to seal it (the exterior of the foundation has not been waterproofed). And I know I can't pressure wash it. But I am wondering if there is someway that I can at least clean it. If there was something that I could just spray on that would clean the dirt away I would be very happy!

Also, could I paint the walls with just a regular paint? I know that it would eventually chip off, but it might help control the dirt for a while. You can see that it was painted at one time.

Thanks for your help,

Alice

[Bill Kibbel]

A stiff brush with water and low-presure rinse will take most dirt off. If you have the desire to paint it, use limewash: http://www.oldhouseweb.com/blog/whitewa ... -cover-up/.