The Easy Way To Maintain Your Deck

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The Easy Way To Maintain Your Deck Decking generally requires more care than your patio and you should clean your deck twice a year, once after the summer when it has been used a lot, and again after the winter after it has been exposed to lots of bad weather. Most people think that water is a deck’s biggest enemy. Although it is by no means a friend to decking material, it’s the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun that is the major cause of damage. Prolonged exposure to either or both of these elements can be devastating to a deck. Deck boards that remain wet over time will breed fungus and result in rot that will ultimately require them to be replaced. Damp lumber and seasonal dehydration also result in cupping, cracking and curling. The easiest way is to clean with a pressure washer, allowing the deck to dry thoroughly afterwards. A pressure washer is just like a garden hose – with 2000 psi (pounds per square inch) behind it! The pressure washing machine has a small engine – kind of like a lawn mower – that runs by electricity. Washers come in different sizes for different jobs. A house painter would use a heavy-duty washer to remove chipped or dried paint from a house before painting while; homeowners can use a regular-duty machine to wash patio furniture, vinyl siding, walkways, automobiles, and of course, decks and patios. Once a person realizes how easy and fun pressure washing is, they may never hire a contractor again for the job You may have seen your neighbour out there all day cleaning everything in sight using his brand spanking new pressure washer and it looks so easy. Well hold on there just a moment. It really not as easy as it looks and if you not careful someone can get hurt or you are going to damage what you are trying to clean. 2,000 psi is capable of cutting your skin, and you may even be using a pressure washer that runs at a higher PSI increasing the chances of you getting injured if you happen to spray to close to your skin. Pressure per square inch ricocheting off a deck is very unforgiving to the eyes; by all means protect them. If there is not a pair of safety glasses around the house wears sunglasses. Start the pressure washer up in the yard, let it run for a couple of minutes and start using the wand to just get the feel of the pressure washer. When you’re ready try a small test area or better yet a small piece of wood to see the results. When you are ready for your deck start away wood about two or three feet and move the wand toward the wood slowly. You don’t want to start and stop in the middle of a board this will leave small cut marks if you don’t know what you are doing. You want to start at the beginning and come down slowly until you have washed the entire board. Rinse and repeat, let’s do the next board. The power washing will also help to remove the discoloration and bring the wood back to its natural color To prevent streaking when doing the rails does not use a deck cleaner just pressure wash using the technique of moving the wand slowly toward the pickets and do one at a time? Only use deck cleaner on the floor boards of the deck. There is not much preparation to the deck itself, because the pressure washing is the preparation to a beautiful patio. The deck must be completely dry before applying the

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water seal. If it’s not, water will be sealed in to the wood which will cause mildew. On a hot summer day a deck will dry quickly, but give it 24 hours. Many of the popular “cure-all” water seals products contain petroleum jelly or paraffin which offers minimal water protection and absolutely no UV protection. These products offer little penetration, and rapidly evaporate. Use natural oils to restore your deck. An oil-base deck stain or wood preservative that uses mineral spirits as the carrier will give you the best penetration and will do the most to restore the dried-out weathered material to its natural condition. If you like the natural color of the deck, use a clear finish. If you choose to stain, look for a product containing UV inhibitors that protect your deck from ‘sunburn. Apply the finish either early or late in the day when the deck is not in full sun. A china bristle or natural bristle paint brush will provide a smooth application and maximum protection by helping to force the material into the pores of the wood. Hard-to-get-at areas like trellises and handrails can be sprayed provided that the material is back-brushed. A single application of a high-quality product is all that should be required. and your deck should look great for your next cookout.

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