The difference is dramatic
Deck cleaning is surrounded by myth. The big box stores like Home Depot and Lowe’s cater to a mass market. The deck cleaners that are sold in these stores almost always contain sodium hypochlorite better known by its common name, household bleach. There is a problem that arises when using sodium hypochlorite. When wood decks are constantly exposed to bleach, they degrade. The lignin in the wood gets broken down and is washed away. In addition, this type of deck cleaner leaves an unnatural whitening to the wood’s surface. If you apply a stain or pigmented sealer after cleaning you can end up with a blotchy finish.
A true professional deck contractor will use deck cleaning products that contain sodium percarbonate. This mild chemical agent is the precursor to sodium hydroxide and is contained in the brand name product OxyClean™. OxyClean by itself is not a perfect wood cleaner. It contains too many fillers and byproducts. Products that contain sodium percarbonate will effectively kill mold spores. The oxygenating power of the chemical will bring dirt to the surface. Percarbonate is also an good emulsifier of oil based stains.
After the deck cleaning process is complete a wood professional will usually pH balance the deck with a brightener. Brighteners are acidic and help to bring the wood back to its natural balance. This also creates an uninhabitable environment for mold re-growth. Stain finishes will now get a better “bite” and will last longer.
You look out the window and there it is. That extension of your home that has been in a love hate battle with you for years. Every spring you spend a few weekends on your wood deck trying to restore its beauty into something you and your family enjoy. When its finished, you step back and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Come the following spring, there it sits. The beast that once again demands your attention. Every year the deck cleaning and staining can become cumbersome. There is some light at the end of the tunnel. You can make deck stain last much longer by using quality products to clean and seal it.
Like any good finish, the final results depend upon the prep work you do first. An interior paint job looks good when you first clean the walls, sand the imperfections, apply the primer and use a high quality paint. The same process holds true for deck refinishing. The key is to use the right deck cleaner first. Most products on the market contain bleach. Bleach damages lignin causing the wood to age prematurely. The best prep involves using a two step
deck cleaning process. The first step should be to use a sodium percarbonate based product. This will rid the wood of mold, dirt and grayed out fibers. The second step is equally important. This step involves the use of an acidic cleaner to pH balance the deck. This second step helps open the pores of the wood and allows deck stains and sealers to “grab hold” for longer lasting durability. There is a product called Restore-A-Deck that comes in a kit with both of these steps. The nicest part about using a specilaty deck cleaning kit like this one is that you can get away with just a light scrubbing instead of having to pressure wash the deck and risk damage. That’s not to say you cannot or shouldn’t pressure wash a deck, you just have to know what you are doing and educate yourself on technique.
