If you’re looking to buy a deck brush, it’s lucky you came here first…
The information I lay out for you here could save you from potentially buying the wrong deck brush and damaging your deck…
Just keep reading…
You may not know this but there’s actually 2 different types of deck brushes and they’re both used for completely different purposes…
So to make sure you get the right one, I’ve put together this little guide called “Don’t Ruin Your Life by Getting the Wrong Deck Brush”…
I’ll be the first to admit that the title is a tiny bit over the top…
But if you read any of my other guides, you won’t be surprised…
The thing is, if you get the wrong deck brush the worst thing that can happen is that you’ll have a bad day…
Then you’ll probably get over it and swap the wrong deck brush for the right deck brush…
But either way, you don’t need to have any bad days if you follow my directions to a tee…
We want to make sure you get the right deck brush for the right job…
Your happiness depends on it…
So without further adieu…
Introducing the 2 different types of deck brushes…
It’s pretty crazy but there’s a deck brush to clean your deck and there’s a deck brush to stain your deck…
One is a hard bristle brush while the other is like a giant paint brush on a long pole…
So when you go searching to purchase a deck brush, you need to make sure you’re looking at the right deck brush…
To make sure you know the difference, let me show you what they look like…
The Deck Brush to Clean Your Deck…
As you can see, this deck brush has hard bristles…
They need to be hard so that you can scrub and clean your deck to get rid of all of that mould and gunk that’s built up over the years…
Just note that these bristles are firm but they are not metal…
The worst thing you can do is use a metal brush on your decking…
Bad idea…
Let me show you the best deck brush for scrubbing your deck…
The Best Deck Brush to Clean and Scrub Your Deck…
This is the best Deck Scrub Brush that I currently recommend…
You can pick one up from Ace Hardware for $41.99
It’s the Harper 10 inch…
The thing I like about this type of deck scrub brush is that the head of the brush is nice and small…
When you scrub a deck, you’ll be pushing down pretty firmly to scrub off all of that decking gunk…
When you push down, most of the pressure will be right in the middle of the deck brush…
See where the handle meets the head of the brush?
That’s where most of the pressure will be concentrated…
If you get a brush that is wider, the pressure is still right in the middle of the brush and less on the outside edges…
So there’s no point in getting a wider brush..
It’s more expensive and it’s actually harder to use…
So stick with a deck brush that is 10 inches like this one…
Let me show you something else you need to look for in a deck brush…
You want short bristles on your brush…
Have a look at the deck scrub brush compared to a stiff bristled broom…
Obviously the deck scrub brush is the one on the right…
These synthetic bristles are only 2 inches long which is pretty important…
This allows the bristles to be made from a material that’s not damaging to the timber…
The longer they make the bristles, the softer the bristles will become…
Short, synthetic bristles are the combination that you want to scrub your deck effectively without damaging the timber…
Makes sense right?
Perfect, because there’s one more thing you want to look out for when purchasing a deck scrub brush…
Your deck brush has to have a really strong pole…
Don’t underestimate this factor…
Having a strong pole will be the difference between having a great deck cleaning experience and absolutely hating life…
So stay away from any pole that’s telescopic…
As the pole gets thinner, it starts to flex as you push down on it…
And remember, you’ll be scrubbing down pretty hard…
If you look at the pole on the Harper 10 inch you’ll see that it looks quite thick…
That’s what you want…
You want a pole that has minimal flex to it…
Something to keep in mind when purchasing a deck scrub brush…
Most of the cheaper deck brush heads don’t actually come with a pole…
You have to buy that separately…
The Harper 10 inch ships out with a high quality pole…
That’s why it’s a little more expensive…
So you’re good to go as soon as it arrives…
Now, if you don’t want to purchase the Harper 10 inch, you can simply take what I’ve listed above and use that to help you make a decision at your local hardware store…
Just to make it easier for you, here’s a checklist of what to look out for so you can be sure you get the best deck scrubber available…
The Deck Scrub Brush Checklist…
- Make sure it has synthetic bristles, not metal…
- Short, 2 inch bristles are best…
- A smaller 10 inch head is better than a wider head…
- A high quality, strong pole is a must…
That’s all you need to look out for…
Now let’s look at the other type of Deck Brush…
The Best Deck Brush to Stain Your Deck…
If you’re looking for a deck brush to stain your deck, this is the section for you…
These are actually called Deck Brush Applicators…
Here’s what it looks like…
See how the bristles are long and soft?
This deck brush is pretty much a giant paint brush on a pole…
But it’s also the best way to stain a deck…
Don’t even think about using a paint roller to stain your deck…
This deck brush from Amazon is the one that I currently recommend…
This is one that I recently retired after staining 3 decks…
The only thing with these deck brush applicators is that you need to be careful of which one you buy…
They all look pretty much the same but there’s a few things you need to look out for
You want a deck brush that has long, soft bristles…
See this gigantic paint brush?
When you run your hand along these bristles you want it to feel nice and soft…
It should feel just like a paintbrush but a lot thicker…
Try it…
Just paint up and down your arm…
Wow, it actually feels pretty good…
It’s kinda relaxing…
That relaxing feeling is exactly what you want from a deck brush…
Just do it…
Trust me…
No, it’s not weird at all…
You see, those relaxing bristles that give you goose bumps are also really great at applying just the right amount of deck stain and then removing the excess…
I don’t know how they did it, but it’s the perfect deck stain applicator tool…
There’s nothing quite like it…
Those long, soft bristles allow you to stain your deck just like the experts…
You may not know this but we actually use a technique that I call “The Brush on, Brush off Technique”…
It’s a super secret method to apply deck stain…
It’s actually really super simple to do…
In fact, it’s so super simple that when I show people how to do it, they think I’m crazy and ignore this secret technique…
They always go back to doing it the “sloppy way” and never get that expert finish that they so desperately desire…
I see it time and time again…
So I don’t tell people my secret technique anymore…
Unless they pay me…
I usually take foot massages as payment…
People who pay, pay attention…
Don’t even think about emailing me and asking for my secret technique…
Don’t you dare think that I’m going to break under social pressure…
Get rid of those crazy ideas of getting hundreds of people to ask me so I’ll just give up my secrets…
Don’t sign that partition!!
But I digress…
Back to the deck brush…
You want soft bristles so you can brush on and then brush off…
The soft bristles allow you to brush an even layer of stain on to the deck and the brush back off to remove any excess stain…
You know, sometimes you might have a little blob of stain that needs to come off…
Or sometimes you have some streaks of wet stain…
That’s where the brush back comes into play…
You can brush back to remove the stain and leave a smooth layer of stain behind it…
It’s the perfect deck staining tool…
Now, let’s not forget about why you also want long bristles…
You want long bristles on your deck brush to stain down the sides of the deck boards…
Check this out…
See how those bristles can reach in between the boards…
You can’t do that with short bristles or if you use a pad or roller…
It’s just not possible…
So make sure you have them long bristles that can reach down between the boards…
Capish??
Great…
But before you rush off and purchase any ol deck brush…
There’s something else that is really critical to look out for…
You want a deck brush applicator that has a really firm pole…
Sound familiar?
I have to say it again because it’s just so important when choosing the best deck brush…
I’ve tried the cheaper deck brushes on the market and they come with cheap, flimsy poles…
A cheap, flimsy pole really does make the staining jobs much harder…
And when I say harder, I mean it’s harder to get a quality finish on your deck…
You push down and the pole flexes too much…
Then you brush off and you can’t get a consistent pressure on the head of the deck brush…
For the love of Zeus, make sure you get a high quality pole to go along with your high quality deck brush…
Got it??
Great…
Now, if you don’t want to buy the deck brush that I recommended above, here’s a little checklist that you can use to help you at your local hardware store…
The Deck Brush Applicator Checklist…
- Make sure it has soft bristles…
- Longer 7 inch bristles are best…
- For the love of Zeus, get a firm pole…
That’s pretty much all you need to look out for…
But…
With that said…
There’re quite a few “dud” deck brushes out there…
So if you want to help to navigate your way through the piles and piles of “dud” deck brushes, you should check out my guide on how to choose the best brush for staining a deck…
In case you missed it, it’s the blue link above…
You literally have to click the link if you want to go there…
No??
You’re still reading???
Ok, I guess you don’t want to read my guide that I spent hours putting together…
I’m not offended at all…
Really I’m not…
I’m glad you read all the way to the end of this article…
I thank you for spending your valuable time with me here today…
But that’s all I’ve got to say on the matter of deck brushes…
I hope you found this information valuable…
Now go forth and buy the deck brush that you really need…
I’m out…
Peace,
Jason…
FAQ’s
The best brush for cleaning decking would have to be a small scrub brush with 2 inch synthetic hard bristles. But make sure they are not wire bristles…
There are two types of deck brushes that are used for different things. There’s a hard bristled brush that is used for cleaning decks and then there’s a soft bristled brush that is used for staining decks…
A deck brush is not better or worse than a pressure washer. The scrub brush is used for scrubbing the deck with a cleaning product while the pressure washer is used for washing the cleaning product off the deck. They should be used together to clean a deck properly…
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