Get Ready For The Summer - Clean Your Garden Decking
http://www.garden-articles.co.uk/articles/46/1/Get-Ready-For-The-Summer---Clean-Your-Garden-Decking-/Page1.html
Michelle S
Garden and decking enthusiast with a particular soft spot for garden structures. By Michelle S
Published on 04/22/2010
During this time of year we often get calls and emails from people
asking 'how should clean my garden decking?' It seems that
the first few days of summer always bring people out in numbers to the
garden and the condition of their decking after the winter months is
less than satisfactory.
There is also an important safety aspect for keeping the garden decking clean as it will prevent the surface from becoming a slippery one. Cleaning hardwood decking isn't hard and will ensure the structure will remain in great condition for years to come despite the harsh winter elements. Here are couple of tips which we recommend you take.
How To Clean Hardwood Decking?
Pre-Step: First you'll need to prepare a few essential tools and materials such as a stiff household broom, pressure washer (optional), warm water, soda crystals and chemical agents (optional). We don't often recommend using chemical agents unless we sold the wood so we know how it will react. If you do decide to work with chemical agents pay attention to health and safety regulations, keep away from children and use protective clothing.
Step One: Make sure the decking surface is free of any obstacles so you can concentrate on cleaning rather than moving toys, chairs and tables around. Do not drag any piece of furniture around. Therefore you should consider getting a helping hand for this step.
Step Two: Using a stiff broom, give the deck a thorough brush followed by jet-wash using a pressure washer if you have one to get rid of dirt and debris. Do not use an industrial grade pressure washer (above 1500psi) as it might damage the wood, those used as multi-purpose home jet cleaners will work just fine. If you don't have one, use normal pressure water from your garden hose.
Step Three: Unless you know precisely how your wood will react to a cleaning chemical, we recommend using good-all soda crystals. Spray warm water over the decked surface and sprinkle soda crystals. Leave the decking for a few hours and once dry brush using a stiff broom. This stage is the reason why the cleaning should be done in the summer when the decking is dry.
Step Four: After you have completed the cleaning process, rinse the deck area completely to remove any trace of the cleaning solutions and chemical agents. Allow the deck to dry completely before placing the furniture and other items back on the deck surface.
Enjoy the summer and your garden hardwood decking.
During this time of year we often get calls and emails from people asking 'how should clean my garden decking?' It seems that the first few days of summer always bring people out in numbers to the garden and the condition of their decking after the winter months is less than satisfactory. There is also an important safety aspect for keeping the garden decking clean as it will prevent the surface from becoming a slippery one. Cleaning hardwood decking isn't hard and will ensure the structure will remain in great condition for years to come despite the harsh winter elements. Here are couple of tips which we recommend you take.
Title: Get Ready For The Summer - Clean Your Garden Decking
During this time of year we often get calls and emails from people
asking 'how should clean my garden decking?' It seems that
the first few days of summer always bring people out in numbers to the
garden and the condition of their decking after the winter months is
less than satisfactory. There is also an important safety aspect for keeping the garden decking clean as it will prevent the surface from becoming a slippery one. Cleaning hardwood decking isn't hard and will ensure the structure will remain in great condition for years to come despite the harsh winter elements. Here are couple of tips which we recommend you take.
How To Clean Hardwood Decking?
Pre-Step: First you'll need to prepare a few essential tools and materials such as a stiff household broom, pressure washer (optional), warm water, soda crystals and chemical agents (optional). We don't often recommend using chemical agents unless we sold the wood so we know how it will react. If you do decide to work with chemical agents pay attention to health and safety regulations, keep away from children and use protective clothing.
Step One: Make sure the decking surface is free of any obstacles so you can concentrate on cleaning rather than moving toys, chairs and tables around. Do not drag any piece of furniture around. Therefore you should consider getting a helping hand for this step.
Step Two: Using a stiff broom, give the deck a thorough brush followed by jet-wash using a pressure washer if you have one to get rid of dirt and debris. Do not use an industrial grade pressure washer (above 1500psi) as it might damage the wood, those used as multi-purpose home jet cleaners will work just fine. If you don't have one, use normal pressure water from your garden hose.
Step Three: Unless you know precisely how your wood will react to a cleaning chemical, we recommend using good-all soda crystals. Spray warm water over the decked surface and sprinkle soda crystals. Leave the decking for a few hours and once dry brush using a stiff broom. This stage is the reason why the cleaning should be done in the summer when the decking is dry.
Step Four: After you have completed the cleaning process, rinse the deck area completely to remove any trace of the cleaning solutions and chemical agents. Allow the deck to dry completely before placing the furniture and other items back on the deck surface.
Enjoy the summer and your garden hardwood decking.