How to Prepare and Clean Your Outdoor Deck

Have you thought about how to prepare and clean your deck? First things first, have a good look at the deck before you start your work and work out a plan. You should take into account whether the deck is big or small? Are there hand rails? How high is the deck and does it have steps leading to it or is on the ground? As you need a pressure hose for this we should also identify a water source and if you will need to also buy decking stain products.

Before you start there are a few safety issues to remember so when using a pressure hose you must use eye protection and as always, you need thick gloves and boots.

How to Prepare and Clean Your Outdoor Deck

Helpful tips to help you clean your deck

Image via: Archia Homes

Preparing your deck

Before you start cleaning, prepare the deck. Brush debris, leaves and twigs off the deck, then scrape out anything that could be trapped in the gaps between the wood. After the deck is cleared, use water to moisten the deck, just make sure there are no puddles of water as this will stop the pre-treatment chemical from getting to the wood.

Tips to enjoy your deck this year

Image via: Outdoor Living

When pre-treating the deck, oxygen based powdered chemicals will work the best.  Just mix the chemical with warm water but how much chemical you use relative to the water you use will depend on the instructions specific to the brand chosen. It’ll take about 20 to 30 minutes for the chemical to dissolve into the water, which should give you time to set up your pressure washer and lay out and connect your hoses.

Wash your stained deck to enjoy for years to come

Image via: Northcape Design/Build

Cleaning your deck

Once your pre-treatment chemical is fully dissolved, pour the mixture into a pump up garden sprayer, and then spray it all over the deck.  Luckily it’s a safe product and won’t damage nearby plants and is eco-friendly. After a few of minutes the deck will start to foam up, which means the chemical is working. Wait about 15 minutes and then wash off the deck with the pressure hose.

When you’ve turned the pressure washer on, start washing from the furthest corner of the deck and continue outwards. When cleaning, use a smooth, pendulum like motion. Never break this arc as no one wants cut marks. Also, don’t forget to wash with the grain and not perpendicular to it.

After washing the deck, leave it for a few days to dry. Then once it’s dried, you can work on protecting your decking with deck oil by Ronseal.

For more maintenance tips on Stagetecture, click here.