Washing my deck?

Question

I was wondering what I should use? My friend told me she uses a Solution of Pine Sol, Bleach, and Scouring Powder (Comet). I personally like Pine Sol, so would Pine Sol be fine?

Answer 1

You should first know this, NEVER MIX two Different solutions together, you could cause a chemical reaction that could explode, or cause a fire, or even kill you if inhaled. Unless you are a chemist and know what goes with what . don't take any chances. If you use a solution of water and a little bleach your deck should come up fine. or use your Pine sol ALONE, but please don't mix these chemicals and tell you friend who does she is causing herself trouble.

Answer 2

Rent a power washer, and use that.  Then, go over the deck thoroughly with water/bleach solution if necessary (for mold, moss, etc).  

Let dry thoroughly, and apply a finishing treatment to help keep your deck in good shape.

Answer 3

Get/rent a power washer from home depot or lowes.  They work really great and you can wash your cars while you're at it and get all the bugs and road grime off.  Power washers are way easier than scrubbing with pine sol.  If you have stains or mold the power washer is the way to go.  Then seal it with Thomsons weather beater.  Good luck.

Answer 4

The first post is correct, do not mix products, especially Comet that has clorine bleach and regular bleach. The regular bleach can cause the release of clorine gas which will kill you enough is  inhaled (it was used as a weapon in WWI) or cause permanent damage to your lungs. So unless you want to be on an oxygen tank for the rest of your short life I would not do that.

If you read the ingredients on commercial deck wash products they use something called TSP which you can buy in powdered form in most hardware stores or larger super markets.

I used to maintain wooden decks on yachts and we used to use a paste of powdered laundry detergent(Tide, cheap generic laundry powder, etc....). Wet the wood down good then sprinkle the powdered detergent over it and scrub it in with a stiff brush or push broom creating a soap paste.  Let it sit for a few minutes but keep it damp, do not let it dry out. Then hose it off or pressure wash it.

If you have a problem with mold then after you have cleaned it off good I would spray it with a solution of 1 cup bleach to a gallon of water to kill off any mold spores. You can use a cheap 2 gal hand pump garden sprayer for this and use it for wetting the deck when you are scrubbing it with the detergent paste.

You should also seal it with a stain or water seal product after it has dried for a few days.