Tips Pressure Washing Wood Deck

For this reason you should plan on sanding your wood deck after power washing and before staining and sealing.

Tips pressure washing wood deck.

Often a pressure washer can effectively clean a deck with just plain water. A good deck cleaner can remove the gray fibers dirt mold mildew and other impurities deep in the wood. This is a tool that is powerful enough to etch brick but in the right hands it can also be gentle enough to wash siding. Use a powered sanding.

After that the cost will be more like 40 60 for the scrubber bucket and deck cleaning solution. 11 common deck staining questions. You can use commercial deck cleaning soap or you can make homemade deck wash. Dip a long handled brush in the water and scrub the wood or composite.

It s a great weekend project that will cost the average home owner between 200 300 dollars if you re buying the pressure washer for the first time. Then wash the deck using a power washer to scrub the surface clean. Begin pressure washing the deck moving with the grain of the wood in wide sweeping motions. Use this technique for cleaning wooden outdoor furniture as well.

You can use a garden hose with a pressure nozzle attached but we recommend pressure washing with a power washer. Sanding a wood deck after a deep power washing the wood fibers of the various components of the deck often raise as they expand with water. However a pressure washer can ruin your deck if it s not used properly. How much does it cost to pressure wash a deck.

Once dry these wood fibers can often remain raised and may cause splinters. As mentioned in previous articles the pressure you need to wash your deck surface is rarely more than 1 500 pounds per square inch psi. Less is more when it comes to pressure washing. 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.

This is still enough pressure to do damage to soft wood and enough pressure to leave lap marks on most composite decking. Allow to dry for 24 hours then sand the surface with between a 60 to 150 grit sandpaper or sanding disk. Pressure washing can help but if you want your stain to last using a good deck cleaner and brightener on the deck prior to pressure washing will provide you the best result. Too much force can destroy your wood so do not use a high powered nozzle.