If you want to know the best way to do deck maintenance, then this guide will show you everything you need to know in simple steps that anyone can follow…
Here’s what you need to know…
The most important thing you need to know about deck maintenance is that you need to do it at least once every year…
There’s no waiting 2 years, or 5 years…
Heck, sometimes you can’t even wait 6 months!!
But don’t worry…
Maintaining your deck is the easy part…
Once you’ve got your deck back to looking new again, keeping it that way is as simple as cleaning and recoating…
So the number 1 rule for decking maintenance is…
You must clean and apply a maintenance coat at least once a year…
And sometimes twice a year…
But most times, 1 is enough…
It really just depends on how your deck is looking…
Don’t worry, I’ll show you what to look out for…
As long as you do your deck maintenance before any real damage occurs, your deck will last for years…
Ok, how about we start with the list of materials and equipment you’re gonna need…
Materials needed for deck maintenance…
The products you need for wood deck maintenance…
- Deck cleaner
- Deck brightener
- Deck stain
Now I could go into detail about each one of these tools on the list but I think I’ll just cover the really important ones…
On second thoughts, let’s go through all of them…
I’ve got nowhere else I need to be…
Plus, I was thinking that if this is your first time on my website, you may not know what half of these products are…
So we’re going all in…
Let’s start at the top…
Deck Cleaner…
Seeing as though deck maintenance starts with cleaning your deck, it could be a great idea to show you a couple of the better options…
This first deck cleaner is one of the best in America…
It’s called Defy Wood Cleaner
What I like about this cleaner is the fact that it’s an oxygenated bleach which means that it will restore the natural colour of your deck without turning it white…
The great thing with a cleaner like this one is that it also kills any mould or mildew that has embedded itself into the timber…
The last thing you wanna do is stain on top of a mould that is hiding in the grain of your timber…
It only takes a day or 2 for it to rear its ugly head right under your fresh coat of deck stain…
Anyway, you can grab a gallon or 2 straight from the Defy website…
Now, if you’re in Australia, this next one’s for you…
The cleaner to use in Australia…
This would have to be Prime from Equisol…
Now the thing I love about Equisol cleaner is that it has been made for Professional Deck Restorers but they will ship it out to anybody, anywhere in Australia…
Even if you’re not a professional…
So this is a strong cleaner…
But it’s completely safe to use…
A lot of other brands can be watered down to maximise profits, but this cleaner is the real deal…
Anyway, you can order it straight from their website and get it delivered out to you within a couple of days…
Now you don’t want to use deck cleaner for every maintenance coat…
It’s a waste of money and it could possibly even ruin your stain…
So this is a “Sometimes Food” for your deck…
You only use this in certain situations, but I’ll explain all that to you later in the “How To” section of this guide…
Let’s continue on shall we…
Deck Brightener…
Now a deck brightener will be used every time you apply a maintenance coat on your deck…
You either use it after the cleaning product or you use it instead of the cleaning product…
So scrubbing with a deck brightener is a must when it comes to deck maintenance…
Here’s the two that I recommend…
The brightener for deck maintenance in Australia…
If you’re in Australia, you should grab yourself 5 litres of Vitalise from Equisol…
Again, these guys make their products really potent…
The benefit to having a stronger product is that you can control how strong you want to make it…
You see, you have to mix this with water, but because it’s a strong brightener, you have the option to go stronger if you need it or weaker if you don’t…
I think it’s great to have the option because sometimes you need an extra little kick to remove a stubborn stain that just won’t budge…
The brightener for deck maintenance in America…
If you’re in America or Canada, Defy Brightener is the one you want to use…
This is a 1 gallon concentrate which means, for $27 you can make up to 5 gallons of brightener that will cover 1000 square feet…
Plus if you’re using the Defy cleaner as well, it’s a powerful combination…
Head over to their website and check it out…
Deck Stain…
Now the deck stain you use for deck maintenance is also very important…
The thing is, whatever brand of deck stain you used last time, is the deck stain you want to use this time…
Make sure you never apply a maintenance coat using a different brand from what is already on your deck…
If you don’t know which stain was used, you’ll have to strip your deck back and start again…
Each brand of deck stain uses a different formula and they can’t guarantee that one brand will bond properly to another…
So if you don’t know what was used last time, here’s what you should do…
- Follow my guide on how to sand your deck…
- And then head over to my guide on the best deck stains and choose a new deck stain…
- Then follow the steps on how to stain your deck…
Otherwise, you’re good to continue on with your deck maintenance…
The Tools needed for Deck Maintenance…
To find out which tools I recommend, click the link in each tool listed above and I’ll show you the best option for each tool…
Once you’ve got all of your materials and tools sorted, let’s dive into the actual step by step method of deck maintenance…
How to do deck maintenance in 5 easy steps…
- Remove everything from your deck
- Sweep debris off deck
- Hose down and scrub deck with deck cleaner
- Clean and scrub with a deck brightener
- Apply 1 to 2 coats of deck stain
1. Remove everything from your deck
It can be pretty hard to scrub around deck furniture or even stain around pot plants so it’s always a good idea to remove all of your furniture off your deck so you can do what you need to do…
If you have a deck where you can’t remove the furniture then the best thing to do is move it to one half and do your deck in stages…
That’s what I had to do with this deck…
It’s not perfect but sometimes it’s your only choice…
Once your deck is clear move onto step 2…
2. Sweep debris off deck
I like to use a leaf blower for this step, but either way…
You don’t want any leaves and sticks getting in your way while you’re trying to clean and stain your deck…
Now don’t try to get all cheeky and think that you can blast all of the dust and debris off your deck when you pressure wash it…
I know it sounds like a great idea but if you have a lot of dirt and dust on your deck, it can blow up and coat your windows and the side of your house with a layer of gunk…
Then you have to go back and pressure wash the side of your house and clean your windows…
Just sweep your deck off first and save everyone the hassle…
Moving on…
3. Hose down and scrub deck with a deck cleaner
This step is only if you have an oil based stain on your deck…
If you have a water based stain, then move onto step 4…
If you have oil based stains on your deck, then continue with this step…
The thing with oil based deck stain is that most people go to recoat it and it has a tendency to turn black..
The main reason is because they missed this step…
You want to clean your deck with a deck cleaner first, then a deck brightener…
What actually happens with oil based deck stain is that it fades off and almost disappears…
Then in order to recoat, you need to use a cleaner that will pretty much remove the old stain…
After the stain has been removed, then you need to apply 1 or 2 new coats to your deck…
That’s why I recommend the 2 cleaners I’ve listed above…
They’ll remove old oil based stains so you have fresh timber to coat…
And you won’t be applying another layer to your old layer…
The layer upon layer system that water based deck stains use are the reason why they eventually peel…
True oil based deck stains won’t peel…
They fade, you remove what’s left, and then start again…
Ok, so here’s how you need to use your deck cleaner…
On second thoughts…
If you do need to use a deck cleaner, it’s the exact same process that you would use to scrub your deck with a brightener…
And wouldn’t cha know it…
I will break it down for you in step 4…
So instead of laying it all out for you here and then repeating it for the next step, just continue on and know that the way to apply the deck cleaner is the exact same way you use the brightener…
Just go to the next step now so I can stop rambling on…
Who knows how long this could go on for…
4. Hose down and scrub with a deck brightener
This is where the real fun starts…
What you wanna do is grab yourself a high quality deck brightener like Equiso Vitalise…
Then what you wanna do is hose down your entire deck so it’s nice and wet…
You always scrub the deck brightener while the deck is wet…
Never dry…
And you want to make sure that once the brightener is on your deck, never let it dry into the surface…
So keep a garden hose nearby and make sure you have a hose nozzle that can spray lightly…
Then if you see some sections starting to dry up, give it a light spray with the garden hose…
I personally like to give it a light blast with the pressure washer, but hey, that’s just me…
Make sense?
Excellent…
Let the brightener sit on your deck for about 15 minutes all while you’re keeping it wet…
Then grab yourself a pressure washer and wash that brightener right off your decking…
Then you’re good to move onto the next step…
5. Apply 1 to 2 coats of deck stain
First things first…
Make sure your deck has completely dried…
Because this is a maintenance coat and your deck will already have a coating on it…
It shouldn’t take too long to dry…
But don’t rush in while your deck is still wet…
Most deck stains don’t work very well with a damp decking…
I’m trusting you with this one…
Be patient…
Ok, now that your deck is dry, it’s time to apply your maintenance coat…
Grab yourself your deck brush applicator…
This Deck Boss is the best I’ve come across…
Stir your deck stain with a flat paddle stirrer, kinda like this one…
One thing to look out for is to make sure your deck stain hasn’t expired…
Let’s assume it’s all good…
Now cut in along the edges first…
But don’t cut in the ends of the boards…
The golden rule for staining a deck is that once you cut in a board, you must stain along the whole length of that board…
So don’t cut in the ends, and then leave them to stain the rest of your deck…
That’s the quickest way to get ugly lap marks all over your deck…
And that’s the number one mistake an amature deck stainer makes…
Want your deck to look like it was stained by a professional, then do as I say…
Capish?
Awesome, so you’re also going to only do 2 boards at a time…
If you have narrow deck boards, you can do 3 to 4 boards at a time but generally you’ll be doing 2 boards…
Cut in the ends…
Then stain along those 2 boards until those 2 boards are completely stained…
But don’t just slap that stain on there…
Make sure you’re always applying The Brush on Brush off Technique so you get a smooth, flawless finish…
Then cut in at the other end…
Finally, go to the next 2 boards and repeat the process until your deck is completely stained…
And that my friend is how you complete the very important deck maintenance coat…
That’s all there is to it…
How to tell if your deck needs maintenance…
How do I put this??
If your deck stain is fading…
You need to apply a maintenance coat…
If your deck stain starts to lighten off…
You need deck maintenance…
But if your deck looks blotchy, patchy or sections are peeling off like this…
Any type of timber deck maintenance techniques won’t work for you my friend…
I’m sorry to say, but it’s too late for you!!
You’ll have to grab yourself some stripper, strip it off and start again…
Well, you can apply a coat of stain and your timber will be protected, but…
It will look terrible…
Trust me…
No amount of deck stain is going to hide the wear and tear on your decking if you let it go too long without maintenance…
Just know that you can’t go for years without any deck care…
You need to stay on top of this…
Now, the decks that I’ve shown you above are coated with water based deck stain…
If you have a deck coated in oil based stain, your deck shouldn’t look like this one…
Your deck should just fade…
If you let your deck fade so you won’t see any stain on your deck and then you can follow the steps I’ve laid out for you…
You shouldn’t need to sand back unless your timber is starting to get splinters…
Then maybe you should rub your deck down with 80 grit sandpaper to smooth it off…
But that’s about all you should need to do…
Okay dokey…
That should be enough on wood deck maintenance for one day…
How much more do you need to know??
Anyway…
I’m outta here…
I’ll see you next time…
Peace,
Jason…
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