Cleaning your deck system annually is absurdly vital - here is why! ( micro-cracks)

Deck Floor in Cincinnati, Ohio that presents mildew even after several pressure cleanings, high powered commercial cleaner was used and was able to help but still failed to lift all the mildew and grime from years of non-cleaning. 

  

Did you skip cleaning your deck , fence or other outdoor wood this year? Well , you might not ever get it fully clean again.... 

Let's talk about how mildew and grime find a home on your wood's surfaces , and become hard to evict.  

Above is a photo of a deck system in Cincinnati, Ohio that has been pressure washed twice. 

    Thats correct twice‼️, notice how you can still see mildew and green grime on the floor planks? 

   That is because this deck system was not cleaned for several years. Look closer at the pictures and you can see hairline cracks running through the floor planks, there exist also ones so small and tiny that you cannot see them. For the purpose of this article,  let's call them 

'micro-cracks'

 What happens after a extended period of time with dirt grime and mildew if you do not get it off of the surface of the wood , it starts to build up and accumulate and it begins to build up in the hairline cracks and also in the "micro-cracks"

    Mildew that gets into the micro-cracks is absurdly hard to get out, even with high powered commercial grade cleaner most cleanings fall way way short of pounding the built up mildew and grime out of the surface cracks if cleanings are skipped in the past .... ... 

    Performing and supervising over 300 annual deck cleanings,  I've found that those who do annual cleanings, their decks do not take on massive build up in these micro-cracks.... they take some build up in hairlines and larger cracks and those areas of mildew and grime can be typically driven out if the person washing has the experience to do multiple passes .....

   So what's the big deal right? It's the fact that once a certain amount of build up takes place in these micro cracks... they can really never get fully cleaned...

This leads to rot, screw and nail corrosion, soft wood and the premature death of exterior wood. 

We are talking years before its natural expiration. 

How quickly can this happen? 

Within a season.... 

Thats right,  I've seen homeowners pass on annual cleanings and have super strong viable exterior wood and they let winter come and take its toll, and in spring its ballgame. 

Especially if there is a harsh winter. ❄

   Cleaning your deck annually is inexpensive and honestly is less cost effective to hire a pro... 

Just make sure that he or she cleans multiple decks or fences or exterior wood systems annually and understands how to properly get deep into these cracks and micro cracks to pound out the mildew dirt and grime that lays deep. 

I've personally done 20 to 30 passes on floor planks before with pressure wands and still have had mildew and dirt and grime coming out of cracks after that many passes. 

So it's my opinion that a annual combination soft /pressure wash is the best choice when we are talking about exterior wood. 

   A strong commercial soft wash solvent that sinks down into these micro cracks loosens and etches away built up particles - followed up by multiple passes of pressure in one direction driving dirt , grime and mildew away......

   This done annually stops that build up and keeps surface cracks clean and able to dry out properly. 

This keeps your wood healthy. And it keeps you and your family from facing the ungodly expense of deck replacement or deck floor replacement. 

 Which on national average now run 15k and 5k respectfully ..... thats a massive cost to endure because the house leader decides a cleaning this year is not neccessary . 

📅 2020 is gone , so if you skipped your annual deck cleaning and maintence this year don't freak out. Just make a commitment now that your going to protect the investment you have in your deck in 2021.    Most all humans have a electronic calender now on our phones. Punch in a date or a memo for a month or day next year for annual deck maintence. Start fresh in 2021😁

It's important. So make sure you do it. 

Thanks for reading ,

Anthony Ford 

KONGARMORDECKS@GMAIL.COM