NEVER Pressure Wash A Deck!

Home : Blogs : Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector : A Home Inspector's Perspective

NEVER Pressure Wash A Deck!

I tell my neighbors. I tell my clients. I tell everybody who will listen. NEVER pressure wash a deck! When the pressure-wash companies send their college kids to knock on my door to "wash" my deck, I tell them why they should not be doing that to decks! When I see their trucks*, they advertise cleaning decks, patios, siding, roofs - you name it! Don't do it!

The older the deck, the worse the wood reacts to pressure washing. The big mistake is that companies and homeowners have a tendency to set the pressure way too high. But even at low pressures the deck can become damaged.

What does pressure washing decks do?

It removes loose material and leaves a gafillion dangerous splinters and gaps. Those gaps open up further letting in more damaging sun and water.
It removes the natural oils in the wood that are not replaced with sealants.
It causes wood to dry quickly causing cupping and warping.
It causes damage.
It loosens nails as the wood expands.
It can cause water to enter the house.

So what to do instead?

There are various, excellent, gentle cleansers out there. Be sure to select cleansers that do not have caustic lye or acid, or say not to use around children, pets or water features. A company called Dekswood makes an excellent cleanser that can be followed with sealants. And the so-called "oxygen" cleansers, with the active ingredient of sodium percarbonate, are great and don't damage the wood, the kids or pets, the house or the yard.

You MUST seal your deck after cleaning. The sun does more damage to your deck than rain and snow. BE SURE TO USE A SEALANT THAT HAS UV INHIBITORS IN ADDITION TO WATER PROTECTION. Read the label. It will tell you what the contents are. Water proofing alone is not enough.

My recommendation: Keep your deck gently cleaned and protected and it will last many decades. Not doing so makes it unsafe and age much faster.

* I once gave my spiel to a guy sitting in his company truck in a parking lot (with a smile on my face) and he told me he would NEVER pressure-wash his deck. He said he sees what damage it can do later!

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia

www.jaymarinspect.com

Posted by Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector on 07/15/2010 07:00 AM

Comments (132)

NEVER Pressure Wash a Deck! in the ActiveRain Channel

decks, deck cleaning, pressurewashing decks

Generate short URL

This post has been included in Virginia Real Estate News Prince William County, VA Real Estate News Bristow, VA Real Estate News
Post is included in group: The Vent
Post is included in group: Professional Home Inspectors
Post is included in group: Ask the Home Inspector
Post is included in group: Adventures in Home Inspecting
Post is included in group: Active Rain Block Party

132 Comments on NEVER Pressure Wash A Deck!

JUL

2010

Great points, Jay!! I ALWAYS seal decks after cleaning/pressure. This is a part of my normal routine maintenance between tenants on my make-ready list....

GREAT ADVICE FOR HOME OWNERS and LISTING AGENTS.

This is contrary to everyone's instincts.

Clearly, this is an article that every agent should remember when advising sellers about preparing for listing.

Thanks, wish I read this before sressure washing my deck last month.

I can't tell you how many times I have told people NOT to pressure wash their deck only to be greeted with a blank stare. I tell them of the decks I have seen that are beat to heck from pressure washing and they say, "Oh, we don't use high pressure." I sigh...

Jay,

I see the deck pressure washing all the time...and I see the damaged decks when I show homes. Structurally, I'm sure they're fine, but they do have a lot of splinters.

Rich

I bet you do Wallace! Don't go out there with high heels!

Lenn - that is right and I bet I get a lot of kicking back for this post. But my opinion is based on experience and empirical results!

Beth - at this point seal it real well, maybe a couple of coats. Cabot's, Olympic Guard and CWF/UV are good products which protect the wood.

Kathryn - marketing can be everything to some people. My opinion really is counter intuitive.

Hi Jay, I didn't realize it caused so much damage. I have pressure washed my deck several times in the last 15 years and it still looks good. I do seal it with a waterproof stain after washing though. Maybe that is what has made the difference.

I wonder how many of these companies that pressure wash decks also have deck replacement businesses? Seems like the first could help speed up the need for the second!

I am sorry that you have not used people who understand what the process is about.

It is necessary to clean any surface prior to staining or painting to get the product to adhere to the surface as dirt is not a good surface to bind to.

St. Louis Painting

see our site for examples of proper pressure washing; we only us 2,700 psi and are very careful.

Now I will recognize those lines in the wood and why you should not walk on one with high heals!

Great points and comments...will have to pass this along, thanks for sharing Jen

bet few people know this since washing would sound like a good maintenance thing rather than a weaken and destroy measure...blog on !

Great information! I've had a deck pressure washing mishap or two in my day -- wish I hadn't had to learn this the hard way.

Don't power- wash decks OR wood picnic tables, wood benches, even wood fences. And don't power-wash brick patios unless you're prepared to lose a lot of mortar between the bricks. I didn't have you to teach me this, so I learned through the school of hard knocks.

Actually, cleaning a fence makes it looks like new, and it's something I do every 4-5 years. It's still standing and it looks better when I do it, but I couldn't do it any more often.

Great advice, as always Jay. Oops - we just pressure washed ours before sealing it 2 months ago. Oh well...it was only the first time (Um and last) and the deck is 2 years old. We did use a UV stain.

Jay...

How right you are. I made the mistake of pressure washing my deck a few times and now it's in terrible shape!

Taking care of the deck is a lot of work...

There are other product that you can use, that are great, instead of wood...

Great post Jay!

Bob - hopefully water proof and UV resistant!

Richard - you think like I do!

Sonny - I have not used anybody! My opinion is based on visual examination and empirical evidence.

Ellen - high heels and decks do not go together!

You are welcome as always Jen!

S&D - it is counter intuitive. And I will!

Tish - it is an easy lesson to learn, and a hard one.

Margaret - the school of hard knocks is an effective, but cruel, teacher.

Coral - you did a good thing on the second one!

Richard - it does lessen the life span.

Joshua - Trex, for one, is made right here near my house!

As soon as I bought my house I researched this so I could seal my deck. I found that oxygen bleach was best to clean it. It takes off all the dirt and algae and doesn't harm plants or you. I mix up the granules in a bucket of hot water then swish it on with a brush broom. Leave it on 10 minutes then hose it off. The wood will look like new. No splinters here!

Lizette - when my son was 17 he did that on our deck. It looked great. If a 17 year old can do it, anybody can!

Hey, Jay - On this one I'll agree with you generally, but only because, just like bad home inspectors, there are bad pressure washers.

Southern California might be the Pressure Washing Capital of the World because of the wildfires that we get each year. As soon as they are over, the Pressure Washers are out in force pressure washing the world. Unfortunately, just like home inspectors in California, pressure washers are not licensed either. So the best salesman with the most money to do marketing will get the business. And, just like home inspections, pressure washing is time intensive, so the faster you can do it, the more appointments per day and the more money you can make. Pressure washers can reduce the time they spend on any one property by increasing the pressure, and many of them, just like home inspectors, wrongly believe that "one size fits all."

Each material to be pressure washed — stucco siding, concrete, redwood, pine, oak, concrete roof, asphalt roof, etc. — has its own pressure that should be used. Never higher. The wrong pressure can, and does, cause various types of damage for each material. For some woods, not all woods, the problems you documented are common. However, by the time the deck "needs to be" pressure washed, many of those problems are there already due to lack of maintenance. At that point, pressure washing exacerbates them.

As with home inspectors, the best thing for someone to do is to check the references, check the education, check the experience of the pressure washer. If he doesn't even have any business cards, kind of like the fly-by-night asphalt sealer, he's probably in the same fly-by-night profession.

So for the general, unknowing public, don't let just anyone pressure wash your deck. But to say "never"? Well, like my wise old grandmother said, "Never say never."

Thank God we have a patio.

This is great information. I have not ever pressure washed a deck but you did an excellent post on why you shouldn't! Thanks for the information!

You definitely have to be careful with decks. Mine is in need of a cleaning and resealing now.

Hi Jay...yep, learned this the hard way...before I had your blog :). Now..what's a good cleaning solution for 1960's textured yellow brick...pressure washing chipped off the "textured veneer!

Great post...

Jay..as always great information. I do think most people around here think it is a good think to pressure wash..I will save this page...

Jay, I hate to see this. Many folks have made this mistake and it is almost impossible to repair it. Congrats on the feature...

Well... I hear you but would offer the following:

If you have a hardwood deck (such as Ipe wood) you can do a mild pressure washing or hosing and it seems to be ok - and also, many folks have th TREX type decks and that could be ok as well - I prefer stone patios for that reason- splinters and nails that tend to poke up are hazardous to bare feet.

Thanks for your thoughtful suggestions!!

I learned this the hard way in CA on my own deck. I did the pressure washing because every couple years I would pressure wash the house. With all the dirt off the stucco it looked like a fresh paint job. And I pressure washed the driveway.

Hi Jay, when we bought our home 3 years ago, the deck needed help. My husband said, "we really need to powerwash the deck". Uh, not on your life honey! I told him it would "kill" the deck. We have to wash it. And he thought that meant to get on our hands and knees, lol. We bought a long handled bristle brush and a cleaner and he was amazed at how good it looked before sealing it. Congrats on the well-deserved feature Jay!

Thanks Jay! You mentioned kid and pet-freindly ...I am, wondering if you have any eco-friendly washes and/or sealants you recommend...

This is the best explanation I've seen on the topic ! Thanks !

Russel - there are so many gentle, clean and safe alternatives, that don't take a lot of time, why pressure wash. Better put, never pressure wash... (;>)

J. Philip - don't pressure wash that either!

Evelyn - we try, we try. I am glad you were informed!

Rodney - check around. There are lots of great cleansers out there.

Bill - Armor All makes a product you hook onto your hose. Thompson's has a similar product. There is another one called Spray and Forget.

This is great information... and something I didn't know... (although it's a lot of common sense... but we both know that common sense isn't that common these days). Thanx

Thanks Pat. I am complimented!

Michael - the damage is not right away. But follows like the night to day...

Or something alliterative like that.

Ellie - what pressure is best for Ipe wood? I don't know either... that's the problem! ;)

Bill - the driveway maybe, but only on low pressure and only if it is asphalt.

Jackie - that's the way to do it, do it, uh huh, uh huh...

Asheville - they are in the post! There are various brands - Oxyclean, Thompson's Oxygen Cleaner... Dekswood.

Michael - thank you for your nice words!

Alan - would that we could all be informed on everything! Marketing goes a long way toward the Dark Side...

Jay why didn't you post this a few weeks ago, BEFORE we damaged our wood on our deck and home and at the lake. We also had morter leave our front brick porch, I had no idea.

Jay, I just power washed my deck a couple of weeks ago and about to seal it. I'll remember your advice for the next time. Thanks.

I agree that a pressure washer turned up even on a medium setting will do some very quick damage to a deck. You think you are taking off years of dirt and grim but in reality like you said you are doing more damage than good.

I see lots of painters pressure wash wood sided homes too and although it's fast and easy, the water penetrates and these homes blister and peel. Pressure wash cement, and your car.

But, it looks so pretty when they pressure wash it an apply Thompson Sealer to it.

Thanks for the tips. I guess this is common sense but only if you know what it will do to the wood and I didn't. I have a patio anyway but more information in my database.

They are not prevalent in Oklahoma but your advice is very common sense, but sometimes we don't slow down enough to analyze the damage this might cause. I really appreciate your references on what to use, and will incorporate this with my preferred repair people.

Wow this is a great post. I am sure a lot of folks have no idea that powerwashing can be so harmful. Also, thanks for suggesstions on what to do instead.

You learn a lot from these posts. Thanks for the tidbit. Now I feel better about having just cleaned by hand my porch.

For some reason, when installing the deck on my home, I was wise beyond my too many years and used TREX for decking and vinyl for railings.

Sometimes we just luck out.

I had no idea how damaging this could be.......thank you! I'll definitely spread the word!

Thank you for this...We live in the LP/GP captial of the world and all house painters want to pressure wash our house before painting which makes our crappy siding even crappier.

good tips, pressure washer can be very damaging! maybe a filter on the nozzle?

Jay - I did not know this. I'll pass this tidbit onto my parents as well. Thanks!

Hi Jay, I had no idea pressure washing does so much damage to my deck ! Thanks !

Jay,

I have yet to find anything that I think pressure washing is much good for.

OK, I'll pass it on. Makes total sense to me that all these Saturday quarterbacks are ruining their decks by blasting them.

I love this post, and am going to reblog!

Hi Jay - this is a great post and very good to know! I've used the pressure washer on a deck to purposely remove the top layer of very old, damaged wood as a 'prescrape and sand' technique. That was enough to convince me that I'll NEVER use it on wood that isn't in terrible shape to start with - it's amazing how much wood (and paint, contact rust and grime) came off. Pressure washing is much more damaging than I would have guessed.

Jay You are writiing excellent home maintenance posts - keep up the good work - they are very informative

That is very useful information! I'll definitely keep this handy. I once had pressure washing done on my home only to learn that the siding was coming off in chunks. After exploring the situation, I learned that the siding used on my home by the builder was defective and the subject of a large class action suit. I was able to connect with fund administrators for a portion of the money I needed for the replacement of the defective siding.

That was fine but I only wish the seller and the seller's agent would have mentioned this in the disclosures. I learned later that there were many reasons to believe that they were fully aware.

I, for one, really appreciate this type of information. Sellers rely so much on our advice and I didn't realize that power-washing could be so harmful.

I'm so glad I read this article now.. as I was contemplating pressure washing my deck! Thanks for sharing this valuable information! I'll bookmark for future reference...

Jay:

Now thats some very good free advice, thanks a million.

I had no idea. Thanks for the info. Luckily for us we have always used a broom and the hose to clean our decks.

Missy - woulda, coulda, shoulda. I wish"da too! You are welcome to call me before any home project.

Michael - seal it very, very well.

Morgan - there are many gentler ways to do it!

And even then, Glenn, be careful!

Gregory - Thompson's is a good water sealer, but has zero UV protection.

Now you need to give advice to those of use who have committed the sin of deck washing! I bought my current house 5 years ago. The 20-30 year old deck probably had an opaque stain on it -- the ugliest orange you can imagine. I had it powerwashed, sanded and covered with light gray opaque stain. Now each year we have to sand, scrape and re-coat, I think a power washer was used again last year. Last year I switched to a deck paint but it still wore off and flaked after the winter. I've always wondered if the wood took on water. What do you suggest?

We have several little village downtowns in my area with old houses (mid 1800's). The cedar siding on some of these homes could be 50 - 100 years old or more. These homes are often in historic districts and need permits and approvals for any changes. The old style 5" cedar siding is very expensive to have custom made, it goes up in a tongue and groove sort of way, not just nailed up (sorry, can't explain). Many homes also have fish tail shingles nailed up in patterns in small sections, often up on the gable and I can't imagine scraping those. In any case, I deal with this topic all the time. with buyers and sellers. I'm not sure that gentle cleaning gets enough stain and paint off of the wood so that it can hold new stain or paint. I also can't think of a time when a power washer hasn't been used to start the work. Money is tight for sellers getting ready to sell who are often older, and the younger buyers are even more broke. What do you think they should do?

Sorry for long comments/questions, I appreciate your help.

Corinne - expanding the data base is always good!

Joe - there are many, many good products out there.

Joan - you are welcome! I am here most mornings, very early!

Cheryl - I feel better for you too!

Lenn - Trex, as you know, is made just up the street. And good choice! It gets real hot on the tootsies though. Your big umbrella will come in handy!

Ann - spread it far and wide! The cleansers are coming! The cleansers are coming!

Jenna - it will do that every time, and increase the likelihood of moisture inside the house.

Eileen - with the right product your hose is just fine!

Jason - you are welcome to use it any way you want!

Bill - your deck and mine!

Steve - hubcaps, Steve, hubcaps! Nutsy might like a spritz or two, but on a really, really low setting!

Lyn - Saturday quarterbacks are as bad as the Monday morning ones...

Thank you Dagny! I am glad it is useful for you.

Dee - with enough damage it would be hard to scrape and sand enough!

Karen - I hope you can use them! And thanks ... again!

Kate - sounds like you might have had Louisiana Pacific siding. Bad stuff...

Tammie - I am glad and you should pass it along!

Gloria - I am glad you will be able to use it.

Brent - cheap at twice the price!

Stacey-Ann - with the right product that works just fine!

Leslie - your deck is very old and apparently very damaged by now. If the support structure is good you might want to put on new decking and rail caps, and replace anything damaged and ugly. Treat the old and new stuff with something UV resistant that has a lot of oil in it. As to the siding, there are lots of good cleansers for siding. The siding may require light brushing on some areas, but it cleans fine. Recoating, or sealing, with semi-transparent oils (which can be tinted) is a good siding finish and cedar accepts them very well.

Jay - an excellent consumer post. I bet many more folks than not think pressure washing is the way to go.

Jeff

Marketing, Jeff, marketing! There are 20 peaks in North America higher than Pike's Peak. How many can you name?

I have to agree with Russel Ray on this one. A good pressure washer is just like a good Realtor or a good home inspector. Worth their weight in gold.

I couldnt agree more, my neighbor is pressure wash crazy, they must blow water under their siding destroy their wood, even with a hard wood deck.

My deck is all Ipe and it comes back with a scrub brush a deck cleaner and a fresh coat of penofin all with out any damage.

Hi Jay, this is great information. I always see my neighbors pressure wash their decks. I would have thought that it is a good thing. Well you learn on the AR everyday, thanks for sharing.

I have a deck that needs to be cleaned. Glad I read this first!

When I was younger, I pressure washed a deck... and um... Wel... uhhhhhh.

I agree Jim. A good realtor and home inspector ARE worth their weight in gold...

But when I say never, I really mean never! ;)

Robert - the bad far outweighs any good! Keep care of that Ipe!

Kymberly - we are all learning every day. At 89 Michelangelo said, "I am still learning." He died at 93. Seen his resume?

Team Honeycutt (or Allen) - glad I headed them off at the pass!

Chris - live and learn. Sometimes the lessons are heavy ones.

Jay, You are a deck saviour! My sister and I were just getting ready to powerwash (eek!) her deck! Her yard is shady and she has this green stuff on it. What do we use to kill that stuff before resealing. I asked at the Porter Paint store and they did not have anything - told me to go to Lowes. What do you recommend? I cleaned it with Pine Sol about a month ago, but green gunk is back. Thanks,

Congrats on the feature, Jay. I just read it on Alan May's reblog. Will probably do a reblog myself a little later in the summer to remind people.

Hi Jay. I have heard the same thing from pressure washer cleaners who do not pressure wash their own decks.

Jay, thanks for the post. Most people think it is ok to do.

This was news to me! Thank you so much for putting this info here for us.

Jay - what a timely post. I was going to get my deck pressure sprayed this weekend by one of those traveling vans - now I won't. Thanks for the tip.

Jay, I had no idea that pressure washing causes the deterioration and damage that I have observed on decks. Thank you so much for this information. Make it a great day wherever you are!

Jay, I've been guilty of the spray wash, but followed it up immediately with a good stain. I do want to get Trex for the next phase as doing a deck every couple of years can take it's toll. Maybe I need to sell another house or two.

I did not know that. WOW. I always thought pressure washing the deck and then sealing is the thing to do. Thanks for the information

Karen - the recommendations are in the post. The oxygen cleansers work very well.

Chris Ann - I would expect that September is a big month for pressure washing.

Lana - that about says it all. It's like public school teachers who send their kids to private school!

Ted - that gets back to the marketing thing!

Mary Ann - I think we can all learn lots of things on AR!

Harj - wise decision! There are lots of good cleansers available.

Tai - people see damage and wonder why! Have a great one yourself...

Ed - Trex costs about 3 times as much as pressure-treated wood but they say it lasts longer. I haven't enough historical information to know how long.

Susan - we are all exposed to so much marketing. It is hard to know what things are good and what are not!

I never knew, thanks for sharing. I've re-blogged this.

Thank you Jennifer. I am glad to inform one more person!

What I wonderful blog. I need to re-blog it. It contains lots of useful information and thanks for sharing.

Shirin - I am happy that you are happy!

Wow Jay -- now I can understand what happened to our deck!! We've lived here since 1994 and have had the house pressured washed once a year since than. Since the deck is part of the house it obviously hit the deck as well for washing!! My 82 year old hubby decided to cover the deck this year with carpeting (NOT my idea on how to fix the deck!). That's another story, ha. I'm going to re-blog for other folks info who may have missed this original post (as I did!) but thanks to Shirin for her re-blog I didn't miss it.

Sue of Robin and Sue

I knew about roofs. The big power wash no-no. But this makes sense too. They make good cleansers to use before the restain, reseal! Thanks. WOW -- would would have thought a post about home improvement would take on such great comments!

Jay, Never knew this. But now that I do, I'll let everyone I hear talking about it to avoid the pressure wash. Thanks.

Sue - so THAT'S what happened to your deck? A lot have reblogged this one!

Carla - people make money doing the craziest things - pressure wash a roof!!?? They try to do it here too. Nuts...

Eric - spread the word! Hurry...

Jay - Great reminder for everyone, and info that must be repeated. I've seen the results of pressure washing decks and it isn't pretty. I've also seen siding blasted off homes and driveways with exposed aggregate due to novices attempting pressure washing.

John - I expected to get a lot of kicking back on this one and didn't get much. Only two, and they were both mostly in agreement. All I know is what I see! Pressure washing ain't good!

I always learn something new from you. I had no idea. I am sure I'm not the only one, so I will be re-blogging. Thanks for the information!

Kristyn - thank you! I am glad you do. There is a lot of information about lots of topics that are available for everyone on AR.

Jay,

Thanks for warning about this ... a deck is an expensive feature of a home ... its important to properly maintain it!!! I'm definitely reblogging....

Thanks,

Lori Cofer

Thanks Lori! Maintenance is the key to any property.

Hey, Jay - If that picture is meant to illustrate the problems that pressure washing can cause, it's definitely not the best picture.

That piece of wood is pine, and a very large piece of pine, and probably a species of Southern Yellow Pine (loblolly, slash, shortleaf, longleaf).

When I was doing research at the forest products laboratory at Texas A&M University many decades ago, one of our studies was for the Southern Yellow Pine consortium of lumber companies in the South. The purpose was to determine the optimum water content of the Southern Yellow Pine species for holding, shipping, and destination arrival to help minimize cracks, splits, twisting, and warping. Much of it is dependent on the wood cut (flat, rift, quarter, rotary, etc.) but for that in your picture, even pressure washing followed by planing can do a great job of restoring it. Of course, when I was building and renovating decks, I would have come back a year later to "finish" the work once the water content of the pine had stabilized.

JUL

2010

Now Jay if you can just get them to stay of their roofs with the pressure washer. That's the one that really gets me.

This is great information to pass on to our clients!

Russel - you need to come and spend a day with me (you are welcome to stay longer) and see how ABSOLUTELY representative this picture is of decks out here! Not just the rails, but decking! As you know, to properly wash a deck, the sprayer nozzle should be 25-40 degrees, the pressure never set higher than 1500psi and not getting closer than 6-8" to the wood surface. Do you know any companies, or homeowners, that do that? When I see it done, the nozzle is 10 degrees and they get right up to the wood! In all my years I have seen 2* decks of material other than the pine you see here, except for Trex decks, and this is what you get! Other materials are exceptionally rare out here. I see this so very often, I just got fed up and posted my rant! (Ask Troy below if that is not the case. He and I actually did spend a day together! We did not see a deck like this however... but I bet he sees them all the time too.)

* One was a brand new deck on the brand new house of one of the Redskin vice presidents. It was GORgeous.

Troy - isn't that amazing!? What would possess people to do that!? Again, there are so many gentle cleansers out there.

Sharon - I am glad you liked it!

Thanks Jay I Re-Blogged your content TO consumers in my market. I closed comments because I got three of the "GREAT post thanks for sharing" comments. immediately Those belong here on your post, I did get a long email from a real estate agent (not local) who thinks you are wrong. That also IMHO belongs here on your post NOT in my mailbox.

It's blogging not debate team.... Wanna pressure wash your deck have at it...

Thanks for providing good info that we can pass onto consumers. They can decide to pressure wash or not pressure wash. We have Yahooo's in this area who will pressure wash anything and everything...

Thanks Maureen! From my perspective there is not much debate here! I see damage all the time. Some damage I see is far, far worse than the picture above. That just happened to be the deck of the day with the problem. One agent above did make the good point that the hard woods react differently to pressure washing. And while I suspect that to be true, it would be so only IF the washing is done properly and with proper equipment. However, I hardly ever see the hardwoods. So my perspective is just that, my perspective!

Gerat advice for homeowners and you should never presure clean your pool screens with those chemicals either, it slowly destroys the screen. There are much better cleaning solutions to use which are also better for the environment. This is reblog worthy! Thanks for sharing.

Jay,

Yet another reason to love Active Rain. Advice like this is priceless.

I was just getting ready to have somebody pressure-wash my deck. I saw your post just in time! Thanks, Jay!

Cheers,

Robin

Great article and good tip about the product to use. As for sellers, their main concern seems to be to make the house look clean. Let the next guy worry about it after it's sold.

Kari - I am glad this was helpful. Didn't know about the screens!

Richard - AR is a great place for learning, I think. Thanks for stopping by!

Robin - There are many gentle cleansers out there which will make everything just as clean and a good undersurface for any top coat you apply.

Evelyn - it is kind of kicking the can down the road, isn't it!

Jay

I have to disagree with the statement NEVER.

Your example (picture) is of a deck that should never have been pressure washed.

A competent contractor can successfully clean a deck without damaging it. I have done this many times. It is knowing when you can do this.

I would say it is better not to do it if you are not qualified.

Hi Mike - unfortunately I see 6 or 8 decks a week that look just like that rail (had one just this morning!). All the decks here are of pine. I hardly ever (twice that I can remember off the top of my head) see hardwood decks, so I can't speak to washing them. Hardly ever do I see a pressure-washed deck that is not damaged! And with so many very good and gentle cleansers out there, that do no damage at all, why not use them? They simply don't do damage...

Proper pressure washing uses a psi under 1500 with a nozzle of between 15 and 40 degrees, and never spraying nearer than 6 or 8". Obviously I don't see that around here! And how does one know he has a "competent" contractor doing the job?

Since, I hardly ever see a deck without damage my, perspective is simple - why not go the easy and gentle route? I still think the word (not statement) NEVER is appropriate.

And speaking with a pressure-washing contractor just sealed the deal for me!

I posted this also on two different home inspector boards and expected a lot of kick back. I got none.

P.s. LOVE the avatar!

Jay

Keep us posted on others opinions.

Thanx I made the caricature.

JUL

2010

I continue to learn new things on AR. Thanks for the worthy post.

Mike - you can read them here!

Bernadine - you are welcome and thanks for stopping by!

Great article, never really though about cleaning the deck that without using a power washer! No wonder my deck looks worn. Thanks for the info.

Mike - that will certainly wear it out! Be gentle!

JUL

2010

Jay, I think the key is in the experience of the person doing the work - the college kids going door-to-door likely approach it from the perspective of, "if an ounce is good, a pound is better" and crank the pressure so high, it strips off the outer 1/8th of an inch - yes it appears clean, but as you point out, it's damaged. The cleansers sound like the best approach, but I've seen some decks that are so in need of replacement that a properly set powerwash couldn't possibly hurt. When it does come to replacement, I've heard good things about the TREX engineered wood. Good information and explanation, thanks for sharing.

Drick - thanks for stopping by! If decking is in need of replacement then replace it! Trex, made right here near me, is a good product. It gets real hot though!

Thanks for the information - this is something I did NOT know!

Well Jay....I pressure washed my own deck a couple of months ago. It's old...and after reading this I will take a different approach from now on. Thank you for sharing/advising this and I am going to re-blog this gem!

Barbara-Jo - I am happy to inform you! Keep in touch, we try to instruct here!

Christine - well thank you! People who see things regularly, like pressure washing companies, think that is the way to go. Marketing makes a big difference!

Never knew there was such a science to maintaining your deck.

Thanks.

Ralph - apparently, and provable! There are many great products out there.

JUL

2010

Great information! Congrats on the featured post! I'm going to join the other 38 people who reblogged and pass this information on a little further.

Thank you Sharon! I bet decks are the same there as here.

JUL

2010

Hi Jay, excellent advice for all home owners, I will pass it on.

Thank you Dan. Glad you found it and stopped by!

This blog does not allow anonymous comments

Jay Markanich - Northern VA Home Inspector

Bristow, VA

More about me…

Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC

Address: 12315 Sherborne Street, Bristow, VA, 20136

Office Phone: (703) 330-6388

Cell Phone: (703) 585-7560

Email Me

An experienced home inspector's look at current home inspection events and conditions along with his useful recommendations.

Listings

Links

Archives

Find VA real estate agents and Bristow real estate on ActiveRain.

Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.