5 Ways To Damage Your Composite Deck

If the mold caused stains, use oxygen bleach to treat the stains. If you use oxygen bleach, follow up with a deck brightener solution as this returns the pH levels of the wood to a stable level. Trex Decks can last a lifetime and will maintain their quality but sometimes they show their age. One of the best ways to care for your deck is to clean it regularly - don’t let it get past the point of no return.

Clean the entire deck with a deck wash containing detergent and sodium hypochlorite, commonly known as bleach. This deck wash will lighten the wood on the surface of Trex in addition to removing the mold. To minimize lightening of darker Trex colors,dilute deck wash with 50% water. Like baking soda and vinegar, borate is an all-purpose natural cleaner that is versatile around the house and yard.

The capping material on these products is not composed of a wood plastic composite. Power washing your deck can be a big mistake and is not usually recommended for cleaning composite decks. Wet-and-Forget Moss, Mold, and Mildew Cleaner comes in a liquid concentrate for mixing with water, and it can be applied with a pump sprayer, a deck brush, or a hose-end dispenser. Simply saturate the wood decking evenly and let it dry on its own—no scrubbing or even mopping required. Mildewcide in the solution works to kill and remove any existing mold, while also helping to prevent future mold, moss, and mildew growth. For composite decking, don’t use a wood deck cleaner—rather, choose one specialized for composite lumber.

Cleaning Composite And Wood Decking

Removing Mold, Tree Sap And Mildew Stains On Composite Deck Railings

Composite deck cleaners are typically sprayed on, brushed with a soft deck brush, and then rinsed off with a garden hose. The previous posts about it and oxalic acid are accurate. You will create a worse problem than you had and possibly ruin your expensive deck. There are also treatments to help protect the deck from mold and other stains (dont use a coating/paint or you will be in for a lot of work every couple years). We love a product called resist mist for composite decks (). Works for several years and recommended by some big deck manufacturers. I hate to be a naysayer, but I have found nothing that satisfactorily removes mildew stains from Trex (and I've tried four different commercial cleaning products).

Pressure Washing Your Composite Decking

Hose your deck off thoroughly with a water hose fitted with a good variable fan spray nozzle to loosen and remove surface debris. Use a soft bristled brush and the cleaning solution to scrub your deck clean. Make sure to get down in the crevices and corners thoroughly. Then I'd clean it with a brush, water, and granulated automatic dish washing detergent and then with standard/housecleaning version of the Krud Kutter product. Although composite decking can be “less maintenance” than other types of decking, this certainly doesn’t mean “maintenance free”.

Contact Newtechwood To Learn More About Our Composite Deck Materials

• Learn how to clean and care for your composite decking by reading the information that applies to your decking product and get ready to enjoy maximum outdoor living with minimal maintenance.
• See the links on the Corte Clean web site to OSHA, the EPA and Spore-Tech before using chlorine bleach on a POROUS surface like Trex composite decking.
• For early-generation composite products (Trex Accents®, Trex Origins®, Trex Contours®, Trex Profiles® or Trex Brasilia®), we recommend a semi-annual cleaning with a composite deck cleaner.
• To maintain the beauty of your Trex® deck, a little care and cleaning goes a long way.
• All exterior building materials require cleaning and a Trex deck is no different.
• If your deck is one of the high-performance product lines from Trex (Trex Transcend®, Trex Enhance® or Trex Select®), soap-and-water cleaning or a gentle pressure washing will do the trick.

Eventually, it will discolor your deck, damage the surface and exacerbate any mold/mildew issues that can occur. Avoid this costly mistake and choose a non-toxic, sodium percarbonate based cleaner. Apply your composite deck cleaner.Your deck cleaner will come with detailed, specific instructions that you should follow carefully. Keeping the pressure washer under 800 psi, wash off the cleaner by going along the grain. Maintain a distance of at least 8 to 10 inches from the surface of your deck, and make sure to keep your spray moving.

How To Treat Stains On Your Outdoor Deck

These cleaners are usually sprayed on, worked into the grain with a deck brush for even coverage, and then rinsed off with a garden hose. All-purpose wood deck cleaners contain detergents to dissolve surface dirt, spills, and grime. They’re available pre-mixed or in concentrated crystal or liquid form . The cleaners are typically applied to the decking with a sprayer or deck brush, spread evenly with a mop, and then rinsed off with a garden hose.

Are Pressure Washers Safe For Composite Deck Railings?

But the only solution to the problem of deck mildew IÂve found is to clean the deck well with a scrub brush and a dilute mixture of TSP (1/4 cup per gallon) or even a non-phosphate detergent. After it is rinsed and dried, I wait for a sunny hot day and then use a garden sprayer to cover the deck surface with a dilute solution of bleach (I use 1/4 cup per gallon).

To clean a dirty deck or to make a homemade wood siding cleaner, mix the oxygen bleach with the required amount of water and apply it to the wood with a long-handled nylon brush. Clean the wood surface in small sections, always keeping the wood wet and allowing the cleaner to soak into the wood before scrubbing. Once the area is clean, rinse thoroughly with fresh water to remove all residue. Note that while Star Brite is manufactured as a deck cleaning product for boats, it’s gentle formulation makes it a great choice for residential decks as well. The premixed liquid can be applied to a wet deck either with a pump sprayer or a soft deck brush. Even after you rinse it away, the cleaner leaves a microscopic layer of polymer protection to help repel stains and spills in the future.