Cleaning a composite deck/railing

[Rob R. 14]

Just curious what everyone has used to clean composite decks? I have never done one before and I am going to be cleaning one asap for a good friends family as a favor. They lost a member of the family and will be gathering at the home after the funeral and have some black spots etc. they would like cleaned...I will take a quick look at the deck/railings tommorrow, also I would imagine it should be cleaned with very light pressure same as wood,, Any advise is appreciated

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

If it has mildew ( black spots) try your house wash solution.....with some bleach in it.

Beth

[Greg R 82]

:) ...and the thought at one time was composite would put us out of business....

We have 7 on the schedule to clean and seal:lgmoneyey

[PressurePros 249]

Best results/easiest upsell:

In five gallon bucket

1-2 gallons 12% depending on severity of mold spotting

16 oz Simple Cherry is a multi-surface cleaning product that is safe, effective and simple to use! Simple Cherry is sold in 10 lbs packages. - CHEMICALS HOUSE WASH / GUTTER / WOOD CARE / MULTI-PURPOSE

Fill with water

Brush on, rinse with garden hose

Sell based upon your technique (hand brushing/no pressure) $1-$1.50 per s.f.

[anthony szabo 14]

All good advise. I would follow up with a mildew inhibitor to help show down from the mildew coming back so quickly.

I have been trying Chomp Pro product call Algae & Mildew Inhibitor barrier. We apply after the composite is dry to yield the customer more time between cleanings.

Jay T. from V-Seal also has a product that works as well.

Hope this helps!

[Chappy 138]

Tony,

I dont see anything on V-Seal site about a product for composites. Care to elaborate? Also what is the Chomp pro site?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Since the age of the deck is not known, a thought had occurred to me that the suggestions above could void some warranties on composite decking.

Check with the manufacturer first. I found that some companies do not allow the use of regular bleach on their material due to the potentials of damaging the material and causing color fade.

Cabot has come out with a composite deck cleaner that uses calcium hypochlorite (pool bleach) for cleaning it.

I am mentioning the warranty as a precaution for those who may be cleaning newer constructions with composites and could be liable for the process they use.

my .02

Rod!~

[anthony szabo 14]

Jon

Here is a web site CHOMP! Welcome to the home of CHOMP! cleaning products. as for V-Seal you would need to talk to Keith or Jay about their product.

Composite deck are constructed with plastic, saw dust, and other things. I have even seen aluminum foil sticking out of composite decks in several areas on a composite deck. When the saw dust (wood) gets wet it never has a chance to dry out. This causes the mildew to start to grow which is the black spots you see. Don't forget composite decks are also plastic and all the wood in composite is like a sponge. The water does not have the opportunity to escape the boards. This is why the mildew spots keep coming back.

Case: Notice under the homes soffet where the soffet hangs over the decking. Take note how well the composite decking looks next to the house under the soffet area? Anywhere on a composite deck that is shielded from rains, snows is where you seen no black spots.

Now we want to stop the water from attacking the wood in composite. So we now need to apply a sealer that works. But this sealer must have little to no reaction with the plastics that are in the composite decks. Truth be told some sealers with silicone do work but its just a short time before they ware off and the whole process starts all over again. Don't forget we are trying to solve a problem on these decks but 50% or better is some form of plastics that we are also dealing with. I was also once told that there are two Saw Mills in the United States that produce composite deck boards for a Large Composite Deck Manufacture and the Saw Mill in the west has extreme low issues concerning mildew spots, but the Saw Mill in the southeast has almost all the complaints where the composite decking is distributed. They claim its the difference from the type off trees used during the milling process that has to do with the wood in the composite process. Maybe; Thats one excuess for the manufactures. Wood is Wood and Mother Nature also has a oppinion here also!! Work with her (Mother Nature) and not against her. She will always win.

Like Greg kinda states "Thank You" Mr. Composite Manufactures We All appreciate the NEW BUSINESS! They have educated their customers the wrong way with "No Maintenance" and we must educate the customer the right way and most of them are not pleased to here the maintenance issues they will have years to come.

[anthony szabo 14]

We have serviced over 400 composite decks with a clean and seal only suggested by Composite Manufactures. I see this to be a great market for our services. The worst thing is the home owners are mislead about the maintenance. There is Maintenance to Composite Decks, our issues is that we need to re-educate the home owner. Hopefully it will not be to hard to do because all you need to do is step outback on to the deck and see the issues. Then explain the mildew spots is about a yearly to bi-yearly issue to deal with.

During our 400 composite deck experience we Never used a pressure washer to clean the composite decks. Always use a garden hose type pressure. Pressure washing a composite deck with over 500 psi will drive water into the composite boards and add to your problems. Remember the water cannot escape fast enough to stop or slow down the mildew issue it stays in the composite boards.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

It helps to know Tony, we don't do that many composite decks around here because most people are into the "no maintenance" angle and actually believe it. I have walked onto a number of them that were so badly covered with mildew and algae that it was almost indistinguishable as a composite.

Rod!~

[anthony szabo 14]

Rod is right, almost all composite deck owners bought this type of decking to never proform maintenance on their deck. So this is what they were told. Its a great nitch to stay abreast on. The actual cleaning is extremely easy and applying a sealer is much less labor than wood decks.

Its working out with repeat business for us.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

And the sealer ya end up using is?

[anthony szabo 14]

Psc Cleaning Solutions Products

are: After Clean and Composite Protector

Chomp Pro : Alge and Mold Barrier

V-Seal : call them

We have used Psc and Chomp Pro products as of now. Going to be trying V-Seal product soon.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Looks like the psc is siloxane and who knows with the vseal. Don't see it on their site or any msds for that matter on anything. Some product says what they are like the acrylics and but others like the 20 year concrete sealer is not all that candid on what it is. Is it silica, is it lithium based densifier? I mean what gives..can't use it if I don't know what it is or how much it costs. And really no thanx on the calling them thing. Don't have time or inclination to log down what they could make handy in a sentance or two on their site or product description. My feeling is they could take a lesson from other sites and be more clear.