Deck cleaning question

I have a 10x15 deck to clean. The deck is stained and the homeowner only wants it cleaned, not stripped and resealed.
The deck has some mold, mildew and just regular dirt. My first question is what chemicals would you use to clean the
deck that would not affect the existing stain, and what would
you charge. thanks

I encounter these all the time - usually stained with a solid color. You can downstream bleach and rinse with VERY low pressure - probably not more than 1000 and keep the tip as far away from the deck as possible. The bleach will not remove any stain, but it will kill the mold, making the cleaning last longer.

As to what I would charge...are you washing the house also? If so, I would add about $35. I know it sounds low, but this should take less than 30 minutes to clean. If its just the deck, maybe $50 to $75.

Bleach is not a good chemical to apply on a deck. A better choice would be a sodium percarbonate based cleaner. Wolmans makes a good one, or if you plan to do more decks, you can find guys on some of these boards who sell great products in larger quantities.

Good luck.

im with

A plus on this one. Where the sealer overlaps it may peel. i would make sure the customer knows that if it were me.

Definitely tell the customer that you will only clean it, but that if there is an area of weakened or failed stain it will come off. Preparing them for this circumstance is a must.

Reed

Not to knock the percarb cleaners, but there is absolutely no downside to using the bleach, with the possible exception of opening the bottle. By down-streaming, it will be diluted at least 10:1. When rinsed, it will be diluted even further. No need to pre-or post - rinse shrubs. No more than a quart of bleach would be used - cost about 35 cents. It will not strip ANY stain. It will not affect the stain at all - other than clean it. No need for warm water to mix, no issue of timing so the mix doesn't go "flat".

I agree that informing the customer is a must. A simple "The cleaning won't take any stain off, but it won't put any on either" should suffice.

The age old argument about using Bleach in your cleaning mix. I agree with John Orr that if you know what your doing Bleach can be a very helpful tool. I even step it up a notch by using Chlorine in alot of my mixes since Chlorine is around 2.5 times stronger then bleach.

For a light Cleaning as described above Bleach/Chlorine works great and as for price I would charge a little more because if Done Correctly the Deck will come out looking real cleaned.

Of course I would inform the Customer of the pitfalls of just cleaning such as when the deck is cleaned you may notice the stain that is on it may not look as fresh as you may think etc.etc.etc.

As for the age old Argument I am a believer in bleach/Chlorine for Cleaning/Killing Mildew on surfaces.Its how you use it which is the key.

Hey John,

If I lived still on Long Island (we "escaped" when I was about 13) I would charge more too!

Here is my two cents worth bleach on wood is a no no. You can use bleach in your house wash all ya want to, I do too. Bleach breaks down the wood fibers and should never be used on wood.

Bleach on wood may or may not be a no-no, but we're talking a mild bleach solution on STAIN.

True Jon but that stain is on wood. If it were me I wood go and buy some Wolmans Deck and Fence brightener for the cleaning. It has the percarbs in it.

Check this out....

I think Ron P posted this link on the Grime scene board.

http://www.chlorair.abka.com

Read this, and it will really affect how you think bleach works....

A lot of misconceptions about what bleach does, what it is, etc.

Don't want to step on toes, but as soon as you mix even an ounce of bleach with water, the chemical composition starts changing in a way that makes it close to useless for killing mold and mildew.