Maintenance of my Ipe' deck has become quite a challenge every year. That's putting it mildly, actually. Both Ipe' Oil and Penofin Hardwood Oil start to fade in 3 months or so. But far worse is the dirt and black mold? that builds up on it, especially over the Winter. That stuff does not come off with any of the commercial cleaners I've tried. I ended up stripping the entire deck last year only to be looking at having to do it again this year. I contemplated buying a more powerful pressure washer but when I thought about it more I concluded the better solution was finding a cleaner that would work.
I did some more searching on-line and came across a note about using TSP as part of a recipe. That reminded me that I had some so I went and got it. Right on the back of the box is a recipe for deck cleaner. 1/3 cup of TSP in 3 quarts of warm water + 1 quart of bleach. I happened to have some outdoor bleach, which is more concentrated than normal bleach so I used that instead. I hosed off part of the deck and applied the cleaner with a garden sprayer. After 20 minutes or so I brushed it with a deck cleaning brush and I could see the dirt and gunk coming off. I rewet the surface, let it sit another 10 or 15 minutes, repeated the brushing and then hosed it off. The best result of anything I've tried. It removed all of the dirt and almost all of the black gunk. Another treatment and I think it will be ready for a new coat of oil.
The cost of this stuff is cheap compared to commercial cleaners. Roughly $5 for a box of TSP, and the same for a gallon of Outdoor Bleach. That will make at least 4 gallons of deck cleaner. So that's $2.50 for a gallon, compared to $10 to $15 for a gallon of commercial cleaner that doesn't work nearly as well, or not at all.
I also came across a product called Wet and Forget in my searching. It is an enzyme that you spray on and leave on, and the rain and wind will continuously cause it to kill any mold, fungus, etc. for several months. I'm going to try this stuff after the deck is done in hopes of keeping the black gunk from coming back.
John
I did some more searching on-line and came across a note about using TSP as part of a recipe. That reminded me that I had some so I went and got it. Right on the back of the box is a recipe for deck cleaner. 1/3 cup of TSP in 3 quarts of warm water + 1 quart of bleach. I happened to have some outdoor bleach, which is more concentrated than normal bleach so I used that instead. I hosed off part of the deck and applied the cleaner with a garden sprayer. After 20 minutes or so I brushed it with a deck cleaning brush and I could see the dirt and gunk coming off. I rewet the surface, let it sit another 10 or 15 minutes, repeated the brushing and then hosed it off. The best result of anything I've tried. It removed all of the dirt and almost all of the black gunk. Another treatment and I think it will be ready for a new coat of oil.
The cost of this stuff is cheap compared to commercial cleaners. Roughly $5 for a box of TSP, and the same for a gallon of Outdoor Bleach. That will make at least 4 gallons of deck cleaner. So that's $2.50 for a gallon, compared to $10 to $15 for a gallon of commercial cleaner that doesn't work nearly as well, or not at all.
I also came across a product called Wet and Forget in my searching. It is an enzyme that you spray on and leave on, and the rain and wind will continuously cause it to kill any mold, fungus, etc. for several months. I'm going to try this stuff after the deck is done in hopes of keeping the black gunk from coming back.
John
