If sprinklers or garden watering have left hard-water spots on your home’s brick exterior, buy an acid-based brick cleaner from a masonry dealer and follow the label directions. Generally, these instruct you to cover plantings with plastic sheeting and, wearing rubber gloves and eye protection, to wet down the brick, apply a mixture of the cleaner and water with a stiff-bristled nylon brush on an extension handle, and then rinse.

To protect the brick, seal it using a silane- or siloxane-based sealer (also purchased from a masonry dealer).