Custom Cleaning Compound for Outdoor Decks and Fences

Off-topic Chatter
1

During my search for suitable chemicals to create a safe bleaching mixture, i found a site selling Sodium Tetraborate aka Borax.

https://alexnld.com/product/25g-50g-100g-industry-borax-powder-sodium-tetraborate-decahydrate-metallurgy-laundry-cleaning/

Wow! i wonder how many packets they sell at that price? The 20-mule team strength of Borax is legendary, and wally world sells a 4 lb box for about $4.

The Oxi-bleach type mixtures seem to use Sodium Percarbonate powder, which when mixed with water releases Hydrogen Peroxide and Sodium Carbonate (aka Soda Ash).

Borax is also supposed to release Hydrogen Peroxide but i haven’t seen much of a reaction in my testing. Maybe the powder loses strength after you open the box.

i’ve tried soda ash by itself, and 3% peroxide by itself, and then mixed the two together. None are magic potions that you can just spray and play; the mixture works best, but still requires mechanical agitation, i.e. elbow grease, to really get rid of built up grime, mildew, algae, etc.

This procedure seemed to work fairly well:

  1. Scrap off loose and excess debris first
  2. Dampen the surface with water
  3. Spray the surface with mixture
  4. Scrub with brush to work mixture in and push debris loose
  5. Rinse with clean water
  6. Repeat 3-5 for heavy stains

[edit]
i tried it on an outdoor stairway made of pressure-treated lumber and the wood came out looking very fresh almost like new after it dried. But it took a lot of scrubbing and several cycles of 3-5, so very time consuming and lots of elbow grease.

i wasn’t expecting it and didn’t get any “before” pictures to compare, but quite dramatic results.

i’ve got some algae covered fence boards that i will test with some other solutions, such as chlorine bleach.

Wet n Forget: spray it on and gets rid of green algae in 1-2 weeks
Active Ingredient: Alkyl dimethylbenzylammonium chloride 9.9%
———

2

Are you trying to avoid bleach? I use a 50/50 bleach/water mix on vinyl siding. Black disappears without rubbing. On wood and concrete surfaces a power washer is needed to remove black.

3

That new 30 Second cleaner Home Depot sells works well to

4

Do you have a link?
I used the “”Olympic”:Deck Cleaners & Specialty Wood Stains - Olympic.com brand deck cleaner that worked - ok, the Home Depot “Behr” brand was a waste of money and worse my time.

I use the wet and forget stuff to on the vinyl siding, with mixed (meh) results

5

I use a concrete soap that is made of citric acid. Gotta be careful around painted surfaces as it will strip it if used pure. Added plus the stuff will clean tires to look like new but again if ya have painted or aluminum rims you have to be careful. It will eat aluminum and strip the paint off steel.

6

Do any of the commercially sold solutions work without scrubbing or power wash, etc.?

It seems that if scrubbing is needed, then almost any kind of soap will work, since it is the scrub and not the chemical doing the work.

The Oxi products make claims to work, and also that chlorine bleach will damage the wood as will a pressure washer, so i thought i would try the mild before going wild.

So far the oxi “bleach” is mostly a fail; i’m gonna try a clorox mixture.

7

I use a deck scrubbing brush on a broom stick handle, I don’t have a power washer. I also rented / used a floor sander (180 grit) after washing.

8

This cleaner works well on mildew and the black stains on our white lawn furniture —make sure you mix 50/50 with water

I’ve been using this house wash on our vinyl siding —- It’s only a year old and I was told not to use a bleach product on it—this stuff is very mild

9

I ise that also. Pro tip: it’s main ingredient is sodium hypochlorite, aka bleach with some other magical stuff. Safe for about anything, but id you have one.and surface isn’t sensitive, pressure washing is preferable.

10

For my porch, I use a mixture of TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) with bleach in some hot water. Let it soak some 5 to 10 minutes, and scrub with a deck brush. Sometimes have to re-do heavily soiled areas. The solution stays active for about 20 to 30 minutes. So you have to make just enough for the job. Rinse with a garden hose.

The bleach does release the mouldy stains, the TSP helps clean the surfaces of detritus. It’s mostly the scrubbing that does the work.

So I’m glad it’s done just once a year, on just one flat horizontal surface.

11

There are lot of advertising claims by products for “easy” cleaning of algae, but one reviewer got it right—the main ingredient is elbow grease.

So far i’m not doing very well.

i tried a 4:1 water to bleach mixture today and the algae just laughed; i will try 2:1 tomorrow on some different boards. It may not be possible but i would like to find a solution that will cut and remove algae fairly quickly (apply in morning and gone by afternoon) without doing too much wood damage, where i could then neutralize the chemicals and get it painted soon.

12

I agree that the magic potion is elbow grease . I used to clean our deck in Canada every year with just a good dish soap . maybe even adding a bit of grit via beach sand or a shot of bar keepers friend and a scrub brush ..After I got it clean I'd keep hitting it with a mild water and bleach mixture to allow the sun and air to finish the thought . Kind of cathartic labor and a sore back at the beginning of every vacation each year . Doing the dock is a whole other kettle of fish .

13

Yearly chore (deck cleaning) that doesn’t always yield the desired results. I can see the appeal of some to build with synthetic materials (expanded polypropylene, recycled plastic resin, etc.) but the cost is way up there. The charm of wood is somewhat lost with time as these planks lose their ingrain texture on the stairs and frequently used paths. In my part of Canada, larch (tamarack) is better known to withstand wood rot and mildew. The trick is to build with ‘green’ wood as the kiln-dried stuff doesn’t take nails easily, and to take into account that handrails will need to be re-worked once dried as splinters are tough enough to tear thru one’s skin (not just embed and break-off).

Power wash does simplify the task, but pressure-treated lumber is a mix of softer essences (spruce, pine, fir) and after some 10 years will rot. Sure, a seasonal topcoat of urethane/oil finish prolongs the wood surface. But the rot creeps in from behind and between the cracks.

My neighbor was fed up with battling the weathering and maintenance. Had his stairs/balconies made by a commercial contractor with anodized aluminium stairs, guards and fibreglass decks. The cost was astronomical (3 flights, double-sided 6 unit rentals), but still needs to be power washed at times as mildew will take to the crevices and rungs (styles).

14

Home Depot’s Deck Over Stain is a good treatment for wood decks. Fills cracks, covers splinters and stays put fairly well. Makes future cleanings easier. Get the wood bleached and power washed before applying.

15

Simple Green Industrial strength on Amazon

cleaner

16

D/2 Biological Solution is what I have used on stone and granite and is listed as safe for vinyl and treated wood. It will clean and kill algae just by spraying it on and giving it time. I tested on 1/2 of a big rock several years ago. Within a week or two the 1/4 inch thick algae was just about gone and totally disappeared a while later. Now, years later the treated 1/2 of the rock is just about like "new" and the other half is still thick and green. You can use elbow grease for faster results but spraying and time does wonders.

My main reason for getting it was a 1500lb. granite statue I had custom made for my friend when she passed. I spray it once a year and it stays bright white just like it looked on day one. I tested it on 150 year old cemetery markers and it did amazing without any scrubbing if you are willing to give it the time needed. Scrubbing too would be better but I am looking for an easier solution to do many old markers in the cemetery. I remembered something about it being used on wood that Frank Lloyd Wright designed, so it must be safe for wood too.

17

That’s an interesting solution, thanks for sharing your test results.

Need to know some organic chemistry to understand this stuff, according to the SDS it’s a proprietary mixture of

1-Decanaminium, N-Decyl-N,N-dimethyl-, chloride
2-Propanol, 1~~~~
Didecylamine, N-methyl-

D/2 Biological Solutions SDS

18

What kills moss?