You would be using a gentle soap solution and giving your deck a scrub then pressure washing to remove the cleaning agent and dirts. Your deck needs at least two full days to dry after you wash it and before you seal it. Its abrasive action opens the wood grain and leaves the deck ready for finishing, but it can also leave deep, irreparable gouges if you don't handle the machine properly. Try to only pressure wash the deck when there will be good weather for several days in a row. After cleaning the wood, let surface dry very well. It’s tempting to want to stain your deck immediately after pressure washing it. This buying guide breaks down the basics of staining and sealing and puts you in touch with local contractors who can take care of all your deck maintenance needs. Sealing concrete after pressure washing is similar to painting walls in your house. The machine develops more pressure if you use a focussed tip, but because too much pressure can result in gouged or splintered wood, stick to one with a moderate splay angle, such as 25 or 40 degrees. If the water beads up or stands on the deck, your deck may not need sealing yet. Once dry, these wood fibers can often remain raised and may cause splinters. When pressure washing, saturate the deck with deck detergent, give it 15 minutes to work, then begin power washing. The weather should be warm to allow for better drying throughout the wood. Chris Deziel has a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's degree in humanities. It requires a lot of work to restore the surface, as the pressure washer damages the surfaces. Water seal will typically dry within an hour or two. However, a chilly day in late fall or early spring is ideal. Follow the operating directions for your power washer. Power wash, allow to dry at least 24-36 hours. After washing your deck, it may need to dry thoroughly before applying a sealer. In fact, the treatment given to about 80% of the pressure treated wood used to build decks, is to help prevent against rot and termites. If your deck is in the sun and the wood has dried out and turned gray, you can prolong its life by covering it with a UV-blocking pigmented stain. Hold on a minute, you can’t do it just yet. The last thing you want is to lock contaminants into the wood, where they can continue to wreak havoc after any sealants are applied. A pressure washer is often necessary as well to effectively lift the kinds of stains that accumulate on outdoor wood decks. Do "NOT" use a bleach/bleach cleaner on your wood deck if washing with power washer do "NOT" use the pressure as a stripper (removing old paint or stains or moss) use it to rinse only. After completing the deck power washing, wait 24 to 36 hours before applying sealer. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Deck brightener doesn’t need to be washed away after, but you should rinse your siding again. The deck should dry out for at least 24 … With practice you'll find the optimal distance to hold the tip and speed to move it that allow you to clean the wood without damaging it. The New York Times: A Like-New Look for an Aging Deck, How to Prep an Old Wood Deck for Waterproofing, How to Remove Chemical Stains From a Wooden Deck. Herb Kirchhoff has more than three decades of hands-on experience as an avid garden hobbyist and home handyman. Of course, cold is a relative term, and you won't want to work in freezing temperatures or when there is snow on the deck. One coat is usually enough, but you may need two if the wood is particularly dry. (After power washing the deck, can I stain the deck immediately or should I wait some time?) For this reason, you should plan on sanding your wood … Here's a simple way to restore a deck in one day.Visit Ron Hazelton's website for more home improvement projects: http://www.ronhazelton.com/ The regular application of stain and sealant to your deck will keep it looking great for years to come. While you can always apply sealer with a paintbrush, it's faster and easier on your knees to use a roller or a sprayer. Test the water resistance of your deck by spraying some water from a hose onto its surface. Ask the Builder: How to Use a Pressure Washer, Don Vandervort's Home Tips: How to Restore a Wood Deck, How to Stain a Deck After Adding New Boards. Should you pressure wash a deck before staining it? Power wash your cedar deck like you did with the deck stripper, starting with the railings and bannisters first. The deck must be thoroughly dry to ensure deep penetration of the sealer. This treatment can be performed using purchased or rented equipment, or by a professional service that specializes in pressure washing structures such as decks. I would advise against an annual power-washing. Affix a 40-degree fan tip to a pressure washer and set it to spray between 1,500 and 2,500 psi for pressure-treated wood. Once the sealer has been applied, it also needs to dry before you can use your deck. If you’re worried about gouging the wood from the power sprayer, use a scrub brush and gentle cleaning solution instead. The two most important things to remember when power washing, if you don't want to gouge the wood, are to keep the tip about 4 to 8 inches away from the wood and to keep it moving. Be sure you have at least 24-36 hours rain free ahead for it to dry. How Long Should You Wait to Paint a Newly Built Deck? Make sure the water is cold -- hot water will raise the wood grain. After finishing, it was time to use a power washer. At that point, lightly sand the surface to remove splintery or fuzzy patches caused by pressure-washing the deck. Leaves will rot in there and rest on the joists, eventually rotting the boards. Be sure all debris, dust, grime and mildew is removed. Waterproofing sealers are thin enough to spray with a garden sprayer, but you'll need an airless or compressed-air sprayer to apply oil or pigmented stains. It can take up to 48 hours for the deck to fully dry. If it soaks in immediately, the deck can be sealed. If you opt for a roller, choose a medium to thick nap and attach it to an extension pole. If you plan to apply two coats, you must allow 24 hours of drying time pass before you applying the second coat. This recipe specifies Murphy’s Oil Soap, but other brands will also … Every year I spend some time power washing and re-sealing my backyard deck. Stripper/brightener products tend to roughen up the wood fibers, so you will generally need to sand the deck completely before re-staining or sealing the wood. Besides having an abiding interest in popular science, Deziel has been active in the building and home design trades since 1975. After a deep power washing, the wood fibers of the various components of the deck often raise as they expand with water. To get the most effective seal possible, thoroughly clean your deck before applying the sealer. The high-pressure water removes the surface layer from the wood and restores a graying deck to its natural color. As a landscape builder, he helped establish two gardening companies. Will Pressure Washing Remove an Old Deck Finish? When your deck starts showing significant wear from weathering, bring it back to life with a power washing followed by application of a deck sealer. Pay particular attention to the spaces between boards. A water test is the easiest way to ensure that the wood can absorb sealer or finish. Apply the stripper solution in the same manner as when pressure-washing with plain water, then rinse by pressure-washing again with plain water. This is a good time to countersink any raised nail heads or popped screws. Proper prep is key to successfully sealing a deck. Whether you're using an electric or gasoline-powered power washer, hook it up to a garden hose and turn on the water before you start it up. Then, wash the deck using a power-washer … To clean and properly seal a deck, first sweep the debris — leaves, twigs, dirt — off the top. Repair or replace any loose or broken boards, so that future breaks or cracks won’t create hazards. The wide-angle nozzle spreads the water evenly, thus the water has just enough strength to clean the surface but not damage it. Yet, it takes more than power washing to prepare a deck for staining. For some products, two coats are recommended. Since retiring from the news business in 2008, Kirchhoff takes care of a 12-acre rural Michigan lakefront property and applies his experience to his vegetable and flower gardens and home repair and renovation projects. If you're cleaning a wood deck or patio, your best option may be a power washer. Cleaning and sealing a deck is a two-day project. Sealing a deck in cold weather is actually the best approach for several reasons. Use a putty knife to clean the crevices. Follow the operating directions for your power washer. If possible, seal in the mid-morning or before the sun is directly over the concrete. Fastest & Easiest Way to Clean a Wood Deck. Even at that angle, the machine will pump out water at a pressure of 1500 psi or more. Sprinkle water on the deck. A pressure washer will scour away dirt and contaminants ingrained in the wood at the same time it sprays on a deck stripper to clean off previous finishes. Cedar Deck Winterization: Cleaning, Staining, and Sealing. Use 80-grit sandpaper, and thoroughly sweep or vacuum the decking when you're done. Your deck needs protection and that means washing and sealing on a regular basis. Ashville Pressure Washing: After Pressure Cleaning My Wood Deck, What Do I Do to Treat It? You should be able to see the wood change color as you wash. You'll avoid cross-grain streaks and ridges that may not be apparent until the wood dries by moving the tip parallel to the wood grain. How to Clean Wood Before Applying Teak Oil. How to pressure wash a deck before staining. Rent a pressure washer deck cleaner from a home center or rental center (about $40 for four hours, or $70 per day). An oil-based wood preservative and sealer may cost more, but it hardens in the grain to provide more lasting protection. I would look it at as something you do to restore an old deck. For non-pressure-treated wood like redwood, pressure washing is still recommended. A pressure setting of 1,000 to 1,200 psi is ideal. Before you do, however, you'll want to clean the surface first. (Rollers can leave marks.) A good deck cleaner can remove the gray fibers, dirt, mold, mildew and other impurities deep in the wood. 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. Don’t apply sealer if rain is expected within 24 hours. Your deck needs at least two full days to dry after you wash it and before you seal it. Before we get into the step-by-step details of how to seal a deck, there are a few things to keep in mind. The most basic of these are little more than paraffin wax dissolved in a solvent and must be renewed every year. If the weather is cool or humid, wait 48 to 72 hours. The deck needs several days of dry weather after pressure washing in order to fully dry out. If you’d like to further brighten your deck, you may apply a specially made deck cleaner at this point. Before you seal or stain, you need to get the wooden surface as clean as possible. It is extremely harsh on the wood, even if done by a professional. Water-seal products for pressure-treated wood surfaces like decks and gazebos need to be reapplied regularly. Most deck sealers require at least 24 hours of dry weather to cure. If the … Power washing is one of the fastest ways to clean a wood deck, but it can ruin the deck just as fast if you aren't careful. When power washing the deck, make sure to attach the wide-angle nozzle to your pressure washer gun. Sand the deck to remove any fuzzy grain raised by the washing. The water seal is a one-part mix. Regularly pressure washing a wood deck is the best way to remove buildup and prepare it for sealing. Time for Deck Staining Now that you’ve thoroughly cleaned the deck and it looks a lot better, it’s time to apply the stain. Most coatings require that the wood should be … Now switch to the deck brightener and put the 40-45 degree tip on the wand and change the pressure to 1000 psi. Murphy’s Oil Mildew Cleaner. Power wash. Be careful to keep the power washer on a low setting – too much pressure can damage your cedar deck. If your deck is in a great condition and you’re simply pressure washing it to remove dirt, dust or mold build up then there’s no need to seal your deck after pressure washing. Notably, trouble begins the day you finish building a deck. After all, … Check out our step-by-step guide for the best ways to clean a deck or pressure wash a deck. 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. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. By hiring a professional service with the right equipment and skills, you can avoid making these common pressure washing mistakes when cleaning your deck. The deck will need to be completely dry for the next step. STEP 1. Repeat alternate 2nd or 3rd years depending on how mildew-y it … The simple answer is “Yes, you should”. Note: The sprayer used must be made for water seal, as the seal will ruin a typical insecticide sprayer. Apply it by using a pump-up pressure sprayer (very similar to an insecticide sprayer). Step 1 Allow the concrete to dry completely before sealing. How much does it cost to pressure wash a deck. If protecting it from moisture is your main concern, however, you may prefer to preserve its natural color by using a waterproofing sealer. When pressure washing, saturate the deck with deck detergent, give it 15 minutes to work, then begin power washing. Apply any good quality stain/sealing product (i.e., Thompson's), using a wide brush. Home design trades since 1975 over the concrete Oil soap, but other brands will also … and. There and rest on the wand and change the pressure to 1000 psi can use deck... 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