kerriromeo
New member
Anyone Have A Good Cleaner Other Than Bleach...or Is One Even Needed For This Type Of Deck, There Are Mildewy, Dark Spots-
Trek Decking
- Thread starter kerriromeo
- Start date
dankes
New member
Many times, on synthetic decking materials, you have tanin bleeding from the material. Since synthetic materials usually have some wood in them, they are still subject to bleeding of tanin. I'm not sure which manufacturers website I read, there was a suggestion to use oxalic acid to clean the tanin stains. Oxalic is in Dekswood cleaner, and other commercially available cleaners.
Mike Hughes
Former Board Administrator
i've found it helpful to gently scrub the deck with a scrubbrush after applying the cleaner and before power washing ( dont use much pressure )
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Everett Abrams
Member
These are the procedure we use. I hope they can help you.
Composite Decking - Cleaning Procedures
1. Pre-wet decking with lowest possible pressure(or just a garden hose).
2. Apply a bleach solution (recommend percarbonate based) to decking and scrub with a
deck brush. DO NOT use pressure washer to clean.
3. Rinse deck off with lowest possible pressure.
4. Next, apply an oxalic based product (brightener) to wet surface and allow to dry.
5. 85%-90% of the deck should come clean. In approximately 2-4 weeks deck should
appear consistent.
6. We do not recommend a sealer or stain to the decking, however, if a coating is applied
we would recommend a water-based clear product.
7. The use of a pressure washer to perform this job is not necessary. It can be done with a
garden hose. The pressure washer is only to be used to save time, not used to actually
perform the job.
Composite Decking - Cleaning Procedures
1. Pre-wet decking with lowest possible pressure(or just a garden hose).
2. Apply a bleach solution (recommend percarbonate based) to decking and scrub with a
deck brush. DO NOT use pressure washer to clean.
3. Rinse deck off with lowest possible pressure.
4. Next, apply an oxalic based product (brightener) to wet surface and allow to dry.
5. 85%-90% of the deck should come clean. In approximately 2-4 weeks deck should
appear consistent.
6. We do not recommend a sealer or stain to the decking, however, if a coating is applied
we would recommend a water-based clear product.
7. The use of a pressure washer to perform this job is not necessary. It can be done with a
garden hose. The pressure washer is only to be used to save time, not used to actually
perform the job.
Mike Hughes
Former Board Administrator
Great advice, Everett.......thanks for sharing it.
kerriromeo
New member
ive printed out the info, the customer wanted the job done that day so bleach was used- as far as pressure- not sure, but the woman was happy and didnt mention streaking....the deck was also only 8 months old- so it could not have been that dirty- hopefully a customer like that will get it done every year if 8 months of dirt bothered her....
Big Mike
Member
Hey Tiger,
You may not get an answer from Ev, as this post is almost 4 yrs old. We use a percarb solution and gentle scrubbing to remove mildew stains. If its really bad we'll go ahead and use bleach to kill the mildew, but always PRE-WET the surface. Bleach on a dry composite is asking for trouble. The above posts are correct in the fact that pressure is a no-no. If in doubt, test in an inconspicuous area. Oxalic is a waste of chemicals on composite in my opinion.
You may not get an answer from Ev, as this post is almost 4 yrs old. We use a percarb solution and gentle scrubbing to remove mildew stains. If its really bad we'll go ahead and use bleach to kill the mildew, but always PRE-WET the surface. Bleach on a dry composite is asking for trouble. The above posts are correct in the fact that pressure is a no-no. If in doubt, test in an inconspicuous area. Oxalic is a waste of chemicals on composite in my opinion.