Wood Decks and Wood Deck Cleaning

Restoring a wood deck is not something the average home owner should tackle unless they have some prior experience working with sealers along with using a pressure washer. Decks can be severely damaged by power washers so if you are going to attempt this yourself, test your water pressure on a scrap piece of wood first. As with any other type of power washing job, you need to make sure you have a good pressure washer and use only professional grade deck cleaning products and wood sealers / stains. Once you have the proper cleaning equipment, deck cleaner and wood sealer, it is time to get to work.

Start by applying the deck cleaning solution as directed in the instructions. The instructions for the cleaner should give you an approximate time to wait before washing. Once it's time to wash, start at one end of the deck and work your way across and remember not to get too close to the wood with the tip of the wand. Use a wide fan tip and no more than 1000 psi. Keep the wand in front of you working from side to side in a half moon type swinging action. This pulls the wand away from the wood at the end of each pass before swinging back the other way and helps to feather out the entire deck floor. This type of motion will eliminate unsightly wand marks that occur from abrupt stopping and starting.

Rinse the deck thoroughly and apply a contractor grade brightener to the wood following the directions and then rinse thoroughly once more. It is very important for you to read and follow the instructions for the wood sealer you purchase. Failure to apply the sealer as directed could lead to disaster and ruin the deck permanently! You may want to consider hiring a Wood Deck Cleaning Contractor

Low Pressure Tactics

What does it mean when a contractor says he uses low pressure washing methods? Low pressure washing is using very low pounds per square inch (psi) of water pressure to clean with. Contractors using low pressure rely on their cleaners to do the work and the gallons per minute (gpm) to do the washing and rinsing. This method of low pressure, quality cleaners, and high gallons per minute is very effective in cleaning most anything on your property. This method also eliminates risk of damaging your property like forcing water behind your home’s siding or shredding the wood fibers on your deck.

Contractors not using the low pressure method will be using high water pressure to blast the surface clean instead of depending on quality cleaners to do the work. High pressure can no doubt damage vinyl siding, decks, roofs, and even certain types of cement and brick. Make sure you, or the contractor you hire, use the low pressure washing method.

Wood Deck Cleaning

Deck cleaning and sealing maintenance are very popular services among home owners whom know how important it can be to the life of their deck. With cleaning and sealing the biggest factor in doing the job properly is choosing the right cleaners and sealers. Preparing the wood properly is just as important as the quality of sealer that will be used. The number one reason a sealer fails is because the wood was not prepared properly, it doesn’t matter if the sealer being used is very expensive if the wood is not prepped properly the sealer will fail prematurely.

Another fact to note is that wood is actually very soft and can be severely damaged and scared from a high pressure washer. It is best to practice washing on a scrap piece of the same kind of wood your deck was built with. If you don’t have a scrap piece of wood, practice on an inconspicuous spot on your deck that is more or less hidden from view.

If you are not experienced with operating a power washer or if you don't have experience with staining wood, you may not want to tackle a deck restoration project yourself. The best solution is to hire a professional deck cleaning contractor to do the job for you.

Deck Cleaning Contractor

Welcome to the deck cleaning blog of Midwest Pro Wash. We are a deck restoration contractor providing deck restoration services to residents in Indiana. We do something that is unique to the industry, we provide free information about deck cleaning and restoration to help educate home owners so they can make a more informed and intelligent decision when looking for deck cleaning services. Stay tuned and check in often for deck cleaning tips, information, and advise. Thanks again for visiting the deck cleaning blog of Midwest Pro Wash.