cleaning composite

[douseahouse 21]

wow, i'm really a newbie at wood cleaning. i'm bidding on a house with a composite deck that appears to have mildew stains on it. assuming that it is what is recommended to use on a composite deck? my first quess would probably be regular house wash. am i close?

rando

[PressurePros 248]

This is one time where bleach and dawn does the trick. Caustics will remove the color so be careful of housewash mixes. Its best to apply 4% and use a soft brush to scrub and rinse with a garden hose. Pressure washing even with low pressure can leave wand marks. Oxalic acid for tanin bleeding. Upsell sealing. So much for "maintenance free" huh?

[Pete Marentay 14]

Flood makes a Composite Wood cleaner that is made for these products. It contains some interesting surfactants along with the cleaning chemicals. It seems to require less scrubbing than a bleach mix.

[James 624]

Mold is the basic problem with composites. The longer they (customer) go between cleanings the stronger the bleach has to be. I clean one of the biggest display's 6000sqft for a builder that tried a composite cleaner( waste of money). Just add some soap from your house wash mix. Then get them to clean it every year. I think sealing is going to be a must because of staining from grease . Mold developes fast and travels deep on composites.Man have I seen some bad composites!!

Important note with bleach cleaning keep the strength of the solution

constant. If your xjeting with a 5 gallon bucket and spill some out of the bucket on the deck. What happens?

I saw some guy saying he uses 250 degree steam to clean composite?? and another who leaves a precarb on for hours.

[John Orr 206]

Hey Randy,

Was this the other thing you couldn't remember? lol I get fantastic results from downstreaming 12.5%. Let it sit - hot or cold - rinse with chem tip. I have never scrubbed, and I clean a lot of composite.

As to the cleaners/sealers, I have been used by TREX for warranty work. The cleaner they send to the customer - and insist I use - is from PSC (I think) and require the addition of bleach and application with a pump-up. The sealer sure smells like old-fashioned floor wax.

[YVPW 20]

The main ingredient in that Flood Cleaner is Sodium Hypochlorite. Just a waste of money. A house wash mix does just fine, or if you need it stronger just x-jet it on.

[mas3372 14]

I use my house wash, downstream, reapply to the tough mold spots and rinse it off with my x-jet nozzle toned down to half pressure.

[plainpainter 217]

Seems like a pita product - I thought it was suppose to be care free product, what gives? I guess pressure washers aren't going to go out of business afterall.

[anthony szabo 14]

Using the proper composite deck cleaners instead of the "home brews" makes life more simple. There is a reason why these maufactures spend 10's of thousands of dollars to research and make new products.

The Maufactures also have awnsers to help you instead of guessing why something is not working like it should.

Find a composite cleaner you like and stick with it. Its still costing you only pennies on the dollar for the proper cleaner.

[PressurePros 248]

Writings on the wall for composites too. The majority of builders are using this crap to build decks. They require just as much maintenance and are harder to clean. I charge more than I do for wood. There are much better composites out there now and maybe thats what you guys are cleaning. Around here its Gen1 T-Wrecks (Trex) and its soft, it scratches, and it fades. Six percent sod hypo will soften the color dramatically. Pressure washing (over 200 psi) makes it even worse. If I tried using an X-Jet I would be signing my work.

[James 624]

Tony I've been at a job where the Composite cleaner didn't work. For a composite deck builder.

[seymore 90]

I clean composite decking with bleach and soap all the time and have stained a few with the Gray Away.There are some people who don't want a grey deck and keep it the original brown color.This is the choice decking in the pics.

[RPetry 564]

Randy,

John, Mike, Jason, Texas Shane, and Diamond Jim have slipped again. Bleach, the lignin killer. Bleach, the bane of all percarb manufacturers.

I use straight 100% sodium percarbonate to clean an ancient Trex deck. Done it 3 times in 6 years. Beat the *ell out of it with decent pressure without lap marks. The junk cleans to a disgusting brown like when it was originally installed. With a few weeks of sun, it goes back to a uniform, light gray color that my customer just loves.

Point is, bleach has its uses. No doubt misuse can cause havoc. But learn from the BDA and those blessed with the secret handshake. This marks the 1st Anniversity of the Great Bleach Debate. Authority still has no answers. And old hands just shake their heads and smile. Many of those never post but just lurk here for entertainment.

Behind every great fortune there is a crime.

- Honore de Balzac

There is more than our fair share of product nonsense, even in this small industry. Be armed and forewarned.

[PressurePros 248]

I use bleach on Trex.. have done about 25 of them (called by Trex for warranty work) You just can't go too high in strength on the bleach. Here is one I sealed last year or two years ago. I don't even remember the sealer.. customer supplied. This deck was one year old but a roofing contractor fudged it all up.

[bigchaz 157]

what exactly is composite wood made of? I always thought it was a plastic material. Never really seen it around here

and theres lignin in composite wood?

[seymore 90]

what exactly is composite wood made of?

It's made up of sawdust and recycled plastic.

[PressurePros 248]

If you know what "scrapple" is, (Rick you know that one right?) Composites are like scrapple. Everything that is swept up from the floor compressed under pressure.

[bigchaz 157]

so why does it matter if you use bleach then? not really any fiber you have to worry about coming up

[John Orr 206]

Randy,

John, Mike, Jason, Texas Shane, and Diamond Jim have slipped again. Bleach, the lignin killer. Bleach, the bane of all percarb manufacturers.

Sorry, but I would say that you are the one who has slipped. By using sodium percarb, you are going against mfg recommendations. I'm sure it works, but, at least with Trex, bleach is the principal ingredient in the cleaners that they recommend - and in fact send to "noisy" customers.

[RPetry 564]

Charlie,

I think most of the composites are a combination of recycled plastics and wood particles. But there are so many manufacturers, I'm sure there are other materials now being used. This article may give you a good overview.

Comparing Composites | Decking products proliferate, but differences remain

[RPetry 564]

John,

You say:

Sorry, but I would say that you are the one who has slipped.

I'm not sure what you mean. That first sentence was a "tongue in cheek" comment on the funny and often misinformed posts from others not named when a wood restoration guy mentions the use of bleach on TGS.

I'm sure a bleach mix is fine for Trex or most other composites. I use bleach, most often on RS maintenance jobs. With this particular customer, I have used percarb on their Trex 3 times. The customer hates the Trex but loves my work. I'll only "slip" if I lose them as a customer or do damage to their decking boards.

[James 624]

The composites with the most wood fiber clean up the best and the mold stay's at the surface.

[Mark Edwards 14]

I had the privilege of working several contracted "test" jobs with the Flood Co last year as they were developing their composite cleaner. I'm not a well known "EXPERT" to a lot of you in these forum circles, but I've been in business for 6 years and have come to learn a little about power washing. I can tell you hands down Flood's composite cleaner is by far the best product I've used to clean composite decking. They have the bleach formula down to a science. I don't know everything that's in it but I know it works....WELL

Mark Edwards

BSD Pressure Washing