What is the best deck cleaner ?

[dennis thompson]

I have a deck with a Cabot acrylic stain on it & it needs to be cleaned.
What would you say is the best deck cleaner ?
Thanks
Dennis

[Carl Beckett]

I personally think a high pressure sprayer, and then some household bleach (scrub brushed) works pretty well. I do have some 'greener' products I am in process with and will report back in a week. Bleach isnt that bad for the environment, it breaks down under UV.

The bigger question that I do not have an answer to is - what is the best STAIN/COATING to put back on it?? All of the solid pigment/colored products I have seen - peel. Previously I had used oil based penetrating stains but these are no longer available.

Shooting in the dark with the next version I will try, but getting good info about what works is pretty challenging.

[Greg Portland]

Carl, I put on 2 coats of Behr Premium wood finish last year and it's held up so far. This seems to be more of a stain + weatherproofer versus a "paint". It's available in a bunch of colors and may be what you're looking for.

Dennis, I used Restore-a-Deck Cleaner + Brightener and it made the Fir on my deck look brand new. An added bonus was that it was cheap.

[Kevin Bourque]

Be careful with the power washer. It can easily cut into the finish if you use the wrong pressure or tip size.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I think if you read the can on a solid body stain is says it's not for the deck. It's more for trim & siding...Semi-transparent is for the deck....If the power washer isn't used right you can remove the soft wood of the decking....

[Mel Fulks]

At least one exception is the Flood solid color stain.It is emulsified mixture of oil and acrylic ,water cleanup.They actually go so far as to give a different warranty time for vertical and horizontal uses. I think it is 8 and 6 respectively .For cleaning a deck or concrete or masonry I like JOMAX house cleaner and have not found it nessesary to use a power washer with it.

[rogers kevin]

The cleaner you will want to use is going to depend on the various deck stains (http://www.stormsystem.com) you have used on the surface. Pick a cleaner that goes with the stain. Most products have a pretty good online product description that tells what products to use with what cleaners.

[Brian Tymchak]

I think if you read the can on a solid body stain is says it's not for the deck. It's more for trim & siding...Semi-transparent is for the deck....If the power washer isn't used right you can remove the soft wood of the decking....

Since I just finished building a small deck on the back of our house, I was discussing this very thing with the guy at my local Sherwin Williams. They have 2 different stains - one for vertical work (Woodscapes Brand) and another tougher stain (DeckScapes) for deck floors, stairs, etc, that will get foot traffic. They have the same color palette so they can be matched. The Woodscapes so far has a 6 year life on my trim and can go 1 or 2 more I think. I have no experience with the DeckScapes.