Best Way To Clean A Wood Deck Before Staining

Use a putty knife to clean the crevices.

Best way to clean a wood deck before staining.

Remove any deck furniture potted plants or grill equipment from the deck surface. Ultraviolet uv rays penetrate wood which causes graying. Let the cleaner sit for 10 to 15 min. Rinse the deck with a pressure washer once you ve scrubbed the wood planks with deck cleaner and made sure that they re clean rinse all traces of soap from the entire deck before you can start staining.

Sweep the surface of the deck completely with a broom. The way to clean mildew is with a solution of one part bleach to four parts water. Allow to dry for 24 hours then sand the surface with between a 60 to 150 grit sandpaper or sanding disk. Thoroughly sweep the deck to remove all leaves and other debris.

When a surface is not clean stains and other finishes have trouble sticking and may end up peeling. How to clean a wooden deck before staining. Mix the water and the cleaner according to the. Lack of preparation is the most common reason why deck stains and sealers fail so don t skip this very important step.

Wet the wood with your garden hose and apply a liberal coating of the cleaner using a pump sprayer. Fill a garden sprayer with deck cleaner and water. Before scrubbing with a stiff bristle broom. You can use a garden hose with a pressure nozzle attached but we recommend pressure washing with a power washer.

To clean and properly seal a deck first sweep the debris leaves twigs dirt off the top. Leaves will rot in there and rest on the joists eventually rotting the boards. If your deck isn t brand new always use a cleaner before applying finish. Check the deck for signs of algae mildew and other stains.

Before you apply stain make sure the surface is clean no dust dirt wood fibers or grease dry and free from mildew. Starting at one end and working your way to the other scrub with the brush to. A wood deck cleaner can help remove dirt nail stains algae and mildew. Liberally saturate the deck by dipping the brush into the homemade cleaning solution and sloshing it over the planks.

Give it a good scrub and rinse it away. Power wash or brush the patio cleaner solution onto the deck surface and allow it time to soak into the wood. Unless all traces of sawdust and sanding dust are first removed any finish you apply whether it is a coat of paint or stain plus topcoat is doomed to be imperfect although the finest dusts are virtually invisible to the eye if they are left on wood surfaces when you apply paint stain or varnish the surface will turn out muddy in color and rough to the touch. Then rinse the entire deck and let it dry.