Power Washing and Roof Cleaning Forum

Renuwashing · Member

Deck cleaning chemicals

Pinky · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Hey Ryan, Yep that's the stuff. If they have Sodium Metasilicate grab some of that also. It is a great surfactant with Percarbonate.

Renuwashing · Member

Thanks David! Got them ordered.

Pinky · Approved Exterior Cleaner

You can't downstream Percarbonate. It won't be strong enough. You need a designated pump or a pump up.

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Thanks to David (Pinky) I learned how to clean wood. I built this simple 5 gallon applicator. Simple and easy.

Renuwashing · Member

Thanks Brett! That is a pretty clever idea.

Pinky · Approved Exterior Cleaner

For 15 years I had the pump & motorcycle battery bolted down inside the bottom of a plastic tool box The battery wasn't bolted down. I wedged a piece of wood and ran a couple screws into the wood to hold it in place. Drilled a hole on both sides of tool box, 1 for the intake and 1 for the out. Used 100' air hose for the out (cut it to 70' which was long enough for most decks.) & used 5' for the intake. Attach anything heavy to the end of the intake to keep it on the bottom of the bucket. You can put a quick connect on the end and attach your pressure wash gun to apply chemicals then remove the gun & attach it to your pressure washer hose. Or you can use what ever spray wand turns you on. You wind up the hose and attach it to the handle of the tool box with a Velcro strap. Carry it in one hand and a 5 gallon bucket of your mix in the other and you are making money! Mix the oxalic acid and stir it. It will dissolve. Most people think you have to use warm water to get the Oxalic to dissolve but that isn't true. Just stir it and it dissolves pretty quick. I don't know why this myth is out there unless they are getting some shitty Oxalic.

-- Edited by Pinky on Tuesday 13th of March 2018 11:26:57 PM

Brian C Jackson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I don't clean alot of wood and I think it is and area that I need to look closer at.

waxman18324 · Founding Member Rest in Peace

Brian C Jackson wrote:
I don't clean alot of wood and I think it is and area that I need to look closer at.

Brian,

Prior to the 2017 deck cleaning was not even close to my favorite work. Most times I would turn it down. After talking with Brett it is something we do all the time now.

Hank

Brian C Jackson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

waxman18324 wrote:
Brian C Jackson wrote:
I don't clean alot of wood and I think it is and area that I need to look closer at.
Brian,
Prior to the 2017 deck cleaning was not even close to my favorite work. Most times I would turn it down. After talking with Brett it is something we do all the time now.
Hank

That's great info Hank. I've been doudo the same thing. I get so busy with Roofs and Houses I don't make the time for the decks.

Bryan P · Approved Exterior Cleaner

The problem I have with the percarbonate, especially, is that it doesn't dissolve and clogs my sprayer. I usually fill a 5 gallon bucket with hot water when I leave the house (none on the truck) and mix it when I get to the job. I haven't used oxalic much, but get good results with the percarbonte.

Renuwashing · Member

Here's the results using sod. percarbonate and oxalic acid. I'm pretty happy with them. Thank you all for your advice.

Brian C Jackson · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Looks great.

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Looks great.
Are you planning on staining it?
If not it'll prob re-"grey" within a few months (or even weeks) from the UV rays.
A high iron oxide xontent stain will protect the longest.

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Looks great.
Are you planning on staining it?
If not it'll prob re-"grey" within a few months (or even weeks) from the UV rays.
A high iron oxide xontent stain will protect the longest.

Doug Rucker · Vender

That looks awesome

Renuwashing · Member

Thanks guys, the customer was going to seal it with a natural color sealer themselves. I haven't seen yet if they got around to it or not.

Pinky · Approved Exterior Cleaner

That looks perfect! Now they need to cover it with a ghastly orange solid stain and they will be set...lol

phillipb · Member

We clean a ton of decks. I find that i get mixed results with SH

DirtyRoofcom · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Will sodium percarbonate lift treatments like Thompsons water sealer and others? How laborious is this process?

I have had zero desire to do wood because it always seems like a pita and results are not consistent but do have a deck that could use some help.

Pressure Tech · Member

Sodium Percarb is more of a cleaner (algae). For a cleaner and stripper in one I use sodium metasilicate, more extreme cases maybe use sodium hydroxide (use caution) . I try not to do anything above 400 sq ft, otherwise I could be there all day. Process is basically hit the deck (If there is heavy algae on the deck prewash at 500 psi or so to remove the surface dirt/algae) than with the Sodium Metasilicate (direct application), let dwell 15 minutes or so (keep wet). Rinse. Apply Oxalic Acid to brighten. Dwell 15 minutes+ and keep wet. Rinse. Reapply brighten if needed. Make sure you wear all proper PPE, especially a respirator. There are many more facets to wood cleaning so you should really attend a wood cleaning class if you're serious about adding wood cleaning to your services. Everett Abrams offers education and wood cleaning products, he's super knowledgeable about this stuff.

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

One thing that has not been brought up is protecting the siding of the house!

these chems can lead spotting or paint damage.
I remedy this issue several ways but my main way is to staple RAM-BOARD to the perimeter.
Can use plastic but is much harder to put up and blows around.
RAM-BOARD is also reusable.

Art O · Approved Exterior Cleaner

Maverick Contracting wrote:
One thing that has not been brought up is protecting the siding of the house!

these chems can lead spotting or paint damage.
I remedy this issue several ways but my main way is to staple RAM-BOARD to the perimeter.
Can use plastic but is much harder to put up and blows around.
RAM-BOARD is also reusable.

I don't stain decks, But I do my own. To keep the stain off the siding I use strips of Trim coil. I slide it in between the decking and the siding. Works Great!

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

that's what I use to use but it's so easy to cut yourself especially while rolling it up.

Sharp edges leave nasty cuts.

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

For grayed out decks and even severely weathered semi-transparents,.. DS'ing NAOH is the easiest method,..not to mention, it's fast!! Hypochlorite can also be added if dealing with green or black molds/algae.

*Still neutralize with Oxalic!!

Jeff

Power Washing Charlottesville · Veteran Member

Guys,

I find extremely good results using SH of 6% or more on decks combined with my mosmatic surface cleaner. Tried sodium percarbonate to clean wood before it was being stained and simply did not get results comparable to the SH.

Jeff Wible · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I'm not a fan of high strength bleach on raw wood. Gives it to much of a washed out look,...where as NAOH used properly and neutralized gives a more natural color. But hey, if you're making money!!

Jeff

Maverick Contracting · Approved Exterior Cleaner

SH destroys the lignin in the wood and causes "fuzzing" which then requires sanding.

I found the best way to approach wood cleaning is to PW the surface grime off with dawn, then precarb to "bleach" and sanitize, then oxalic acid to brighten and neutralize the ph, rinse then stain.

a yearly wash and restain is best maintenance practice and will keep wood from drying out causing cracking warping and splintering shortening the life of boards.

selling it that way works well with customers and secures yearly repeat work

also I do use a weak SH when needed but only after washing all grime off first and testing with sodium percarbinate

-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Tuesday 4th of May 2021 12:08:38 PM

-- Edited by Maverick Contracting on Tuesday 4th of May 2021 12:10:34 PM

BlueRidge · Approved Exterior Cleaner

I was fortunate to have David Hoover come here and help me strip a cedar sided house about 8 - 9 years ago. He knows wood and decking well. Hydroxide and percarbonate for stripping all day! The home owner just loves us after we finish a house or deck stripping. In the beginning they hate the price but when it's finished... love at first sight!

I'm old school and learned from people like Jeff back when we used to batch mix, so all this 2, 3, 4 percent stuff is not my thing. I still do 0 -100%. We do houses at about 3% and a roof at 40%. So, if I have the 6% thing right, that is 50% SH. Way too much for any deck! When we do decks with SH, it gets a strong house wash mix, maybe 10% at the highest.