Composite Deck Cleaning
Composite decking is compressed wood pulp (saw dust) that is usually mixed with recycled plastic materials to give it stability.
Many homeowners were under the presumption that a composite deck was supposed to be maintenance free and last forever and paid the extra cost involved instead of a opting for a traditional wooden deck.
Well a year ot to down the road and guess what, they do get indeed dirty, mold spots begin to show up on the decking and so does anything that drips or spills on the deck, like sun tan lotion and oils, grease from the grill, food and drink spills all leave stains that don't wipe off.
You may ask yourself how in the world did the deck get so dirty and start to mold? Mold needs an organic food source to survive and the wood pulp serves that purpose well, so mold will grow on composite decking just as it would on a conventional wooden deck. If you have ever seen how cardboard absorbs a drop of oil, you will understand how composite decking absorbs any type of spills, the spill settles beneath the surface but is still visible on the deck surface and that is what makes cleaning the deck tough.
Sodium percarbonate based cleaners are highly effective because when mixed with water they created a bubbling action much like the popular hangover medication most people have used and when applied to composite decking these bubbles will penetrate the decks surface and actually dissolve and lift any organic material to the surface where it can be easily be hosed off.
The actual cleaning process is quite simple, apply the mixture to the affected areas of the deck, allow it to sit for fifteen minutes to penetrate and to start breaking down the stains, while the area is still wet take a deck scrub brush and in circular motions scrub the spots in the affected areaout, when cleaning is complete use a garden hose to rinse the area well with water. A pressure washer may be used instead of the scrub brush, but light pressure, max 1,000 psi, is all that is needed.
The key, when cleaning is to clean small sections of your deck at a time and always keep that area wet with the mixture while scrubbing, if the area dries before the cleaning is complete the organic matter from the stains could settle back below the surface and the process would have to be repeated again.
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