How To Clean And Care For Your Composite Deck in Indianapolis Indiana
You’ve finally swore off wood decks after having to clean & stain every two years. You decide to tear it out and build a new composite deck. Finally, NO MAINTENANCE! Right??? WRONG!
Maintaining the original beauty of composite decking requires a little effort, particularly cleaning and a little care. Semi-annual cleaning with a composite cleaner can go a long way in maintaining the beauty of composite decks. A little pressure cleaning or soap and water cleaning can also do the trick especially for high performance composite decks. Outlined below are additional pointers on how to clean and take care of your composite decks.
Using a pressure washer: A pressure washer, if handled properly, can be used to effectively remove concrete dust and other types of construction dirt from composite decks. If you don’t know how to use one properly, then you need to make sure that you check out a site like crafted garage. You don’t want to end up damaging whatever you’ve decided to clean, just because you didn’t bother to read the instructions properly. If you decide to use it, be sure to first spray soap on the deck and follow with gentle scrubbing using a soft brush. However, sometimes it’s best to let someone like the Annapolis Brothers Power Washing company to power wash the deck for you, that way you know your deck won’t be damaged in any way. Also, remember to rinse it thoroughly and dry it completely to avoid growth of mold or mildew in the future.
TIP: Never use a red tip to clean your deck. You can easily ruin composite decking or wood decking by power washing too close to the surface. Use high volume (Gallons/Per/Minute) over low pressure.
Mold and mildew: Given time, moisture as well as tree debris can motivate growth of mold and mildew on composite decks. In the event that that happens, use warm soapy with a soft brush to clean it.
Oil/grease/food: Any food that spills to the deck should be cleaned as soon as possible. For the purpose of maintaining the aesthetic quality of the deck as well as the stain warranty, food stains should be cleaned within a period of no more than 7 days. Use warm, soapy water and a soft thistle brush to clean up the stains.
Ice and snow: While rock salt or calcium chloride can help melt ice and snow from the surface of the deck, a plastic shovel can help remove it if not melted.
Tannins due to debris: First remove the debris from the deck using a broom. A hose can also get the job done. After it dries, apply a high quality deck brightener. These contain oxalic acid, which can help get rid of tannins.
Chalk lines: In the case of colored chalks, the lines are mostly permanent and can easily discolor the surface of your deck. A high quality dust-off marking chalk will do the trick.
Dirt and debris: A hose can be utilized to spray off the surface debris while using a soft thistle brush with warm soapy water can help remove the dirt and debris from the embossing pattern.
Additional tip: Acetone should never be used on composite decks.
Composite decks can transform the entire look of a home and with a little care; they can do so for several years. Just remember to put the above points in mind when taking care of your deck.