deck cleaners

[A and J POWERWASHING 64]

What Kind Of Deckcleaner Is Everybody Useing

[Celeste 341]

EFC-38

Celeste

[Jimmy M 14]

New Again ,Great Stuff!!

[PressurePros 249]

ESI's whole suite

[Neil_Asheville 114]

HD-80

EFC-38

Citralic

ESI's the shizzy....:irritated

[jquick77 14]

Do you guys use the EFC 38 on newer decks with no prior stain, or do you use something more mild. I tried Safe-wash, which is a percarb cleaner, but was not really that impressed with it. The EFC gets a little expensive. I was also curious if anyone has used hd-80 in weaker concentrations VS using the EFC 38. EFC is a light stripper, so I was thinking since they both cost the same amount for a tub, you could stretch the Hd-80 a lot longer using it in the weaker concentrations. I have not tried this yet but was wondering if any of you have?

[Russell Cissell 65]

Jeff

Both HD-80 and EFC-38 are 100% active. What that means for you is that you can extend either product. HD-80 is designed for heavy duty stripping. EFC-38 was designed to remove semitransparent oil based finishes like TWP, Deck Scapes and Wood-Tux.

If you are washing new construction or even older wood that has no existing sealer you can use EFC-38 mixed half strength at a cost of less than one penny per square foot.

Just remember, when you are working with any powder concentrate, you should always mix it full strength and then cut it with the desired amount of water. For instance you would mix EFC-38 at a rate of 1/2 LB (about 2/3 cup) per gallon. Then you would add another gallon of water to that solution.

Once you get a feel for what the product will do at various strengths you will find EFC-38 to be a very flexible product. You can find more information by visiting www.esproducts.net and clicking on the Product Information link.

Best of Luck

Russell Cissell

Extreme Solutions, Inc.

www.esproducts.net

1-866-536-7393

Best of Luck

[RPetry 564]

Russell,

when you are working with any powder concentrate, you should always mix it full strength and then cut it with the desired amount of water

What is the reasoning behind this mixing practice?

[Russell Cissell 65]

Rick

Powder concentrates are made up of a blend of different dry chemicals. During the manufacturing process each ingredient is added by weight in a specific order to insure an optimal blend.

Handling of these concentrates leads to compaction. During compaction it is possible for the heavier ingredients to settle. This means that if you scoup off the top, your solution could be slightly off. In addition, each individual ingredient has a different rate of dispersion. In a perfect world if you purchase 10 LBS of HD-80 you would drop that into 20 gallons of water and achieve the best possible solution.

Because it's not always practical to mix that much solution at once the next best thing is to mix a full strength batch and then dilute it with water. Basicly it keeps the solution closer to the intendid mix. This is why some contractors prefer to purchase the single use 2 LB jars. This allows for mixing small batches while maintaining formulary integrity.

By mixing full strength and then diluting with water you reduce the variance by roughly 50%

Hope this helps

Russell Cissell

Extreme Solutions, Inc.

www.esproducts.net

[James 625]

I find it easier to just add some TSP to my precarb if I need a stronger cleaner. Yes , I use precarbs sometimes!!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We use both EFC-38 by ESI and F-10 by PressureTek.

We find F-10 is safer on newer finishes than EFC-38 is, if your goal is to clean and maintain.

EFC-38 works well for cleaning decks that have sealer remnants that need to be removed without performing a more full and harsh strip, since it does contain stripping agents.

Beth :cup: :sunshine: :groovy2:

[plainpainter 217]

What are the stripping agents in EFC-38?

-Dan

[jquick77 14]

Russel,

Thanks so much for the info. I didn't know anything about mixing the chemicals that way. I am still getting the feel for the cleaning products, and like I said was not very impressed with just a precarb on a 1 yr old deck. I have used the EFC-38 on a few with an old oil base, and it worked like a charm. With a deck that has not been sealed yet, say 6 months to a year old, would you say EFC-38 would work at half strength ? I am also nervous about furring, as I had one that I stripped with HD-80 (and it worked great), but I mixed a little to strong, or left it dwell to long and it furred quite a bit. (Work and Learn) I haven't had any issues with the EFC-38 yet, and I think that the jobs I used it on, I mixed at close to full strength because old sealer needed to be removed. So what your saying is start out at about half strength for cleaning purposes on unsealed wood and add of needed?

Again thanks for your help ....

[charlie 14]

Russell

It sure would be nice if you offered a measuring cup for the products.

Charlie

[Russell Cissell 65]

Russel,

I have used the EFC-38 on a few with an old oil base, and it worked like a charm. With a deck that has not been sealed yet, say 6 months to a year old, would you say EFC-38 would work at half strength ?

Yes, half stregnth should work well. If you have any doubt, just do a little test patch on the worst part of the deck.

Charlie

Now that everything is packed into the 10 lb containers, that would create a lot of waste. When I think about hundreds of non-biodegradable plastic scoops going out the door each month, I cringe. If I could get away with it, I would ship out products in a paper bag so I wouldn't be clogging land fills with those plastic containers.

I'll make you a deal, you go out and buy yourself the nicest Pyrex measuring cup you can find and send me the receipt. I will issue you a credit in that amount and take it off your next order.

[Jimmy M 14]

I always shake the efc-38 and hd-80 up in container b-4 I scoop it out.

[douseahouse 21]

i'm basically a roof washer but now i have a deck to clean and all i want to do is clean it. this deck has a brownish colored stain that i do not want to remove. i basically want to remove the mold and mildew to make it look good and new again. what do you deck pros recommend?

thanks gang in advance,

douseahouse

[PressurePros 249]

If the sealer is less thana year old, not peeling and is totally intact you could just clean it with bleach and soap.

[daryl 14]

I use safe wash from sunbrite supply