DECK CLEANING HAZARDS
Summertime and the living is easy? Good song, but it falls a little short of reality if you live on a lake.
The first nice weather after Memorial Day, you get out the lawn and deck furniture, opps........ what has happened to our beautiful deck? We can't put the umbrella table on that dirty faded wood! We've got company coming for the 4th. and Shell Knob's fireworks. What will they think?
We'll just get one of those pressure washers like they show on the tv commercials and take care of that drab looking wood in a flash. No problem, right? And that is exactly what the home rental center tells you. This will be easy. It will look better than new. No biggee. It's just like watering the lawn or washing the car, only stronger.
Talk about an understatement!
1. Set up the machine & hook up water supply lines.
2. Attach high pressure hose & gun
3. Gentlemen start your engines (pull cord)
4. Squeeze trigger
5. Release trigger and check wood
AT this point you realize you not only cleaned the crud, but you also took off part of the wood. Instead of the nice flat wood you had, you now have rough course wood, needing sanding!
You also need some protection from the water's flash-back and wish you had a protective plastic suit like the hazardous guys wear. So you invent your own with a rain cape and large plastic trash bags for each leg, hooked to your belt with bungee cords. This makes such an impressive look, that the dog runs and hides, whether from the noise the pressure washer makes or the weird creature on the deck, who knows?
Once the deck surface is complete, we tackle the lattice work that surrounds the upper rails, the stairways, and lattice work covering the bottom of the deck. You try to ignore the sore muscles from wrestling the pressure washer, and twisting and turning to get over, under and sideways of each piece of dirty looking wood. You remind yourself of how much money you are saving by doing this yourself.
When all is complete, the credit card reflects $250 for cleaner, stain and sealant. There is no price for the blood, sweat and tears.
You vow to NEVER attempt to do this yourself again. The picture shows the final result of our labor.
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