But I love my presure washer....and mine is bigger and took one saturday to clean, and the next weekend for my wife to stain it....she used a brush for the sides and then rolled on the top stain....that was last summer and it still looks brand new....I do like the 2 story stairs you have...

Hi Lizette, when it comes to home improvements, I've learned the hard way to hire someone else to do it AND you get what you pay for.  :-)

Quiclk & Easy doesn't last long and damages the deck wood.

 Slow & Hard makes the deck last a lot longer.

 I see those 15 & 20 year decks that have been treated both ways.  That far dow the road the Slow & Hard method has held up a lot better that the Quick & Easy.

 Congrats on taking the time & effort to do it right!

Good post, Lizette. I didn't know that about oxygen bleach nor that pressure washers destroy wood. I know two people this past week who pressure washed their decks and also a home inspector just advised one of my clients to pressure wash the deck on the house I just sold her ! Hmmm. Don't home inspectors know about oxygen bleach ?

  Thanks for the enlightening article.

Jo 

Chuck - Isn't it a relief to get it all done? The improvement is amazing!

Irina - You are exactly right. Hopefully it gets done right the first time around.

Erby - Since we are both in the biz we have seen some bad decks! It's one thing people let go and don't take good care of. Plus it would be so easy to clean them before selling a house. I love how nice mine looks now. Nice enough to walk around barefoot with no splinters!

Jo-Anne- I think a lot of people just don't know that there is a better way to do it without damaging wood. I'm glad I researched it before ruining my wood a few years ago. I bet Erby knows about oxygen bleach. It's fantastic to clean a roof with too!

Looks great now...Can you imagine where YOU would be if you had done it yourself?  He "knows what he's doing" and it took him 5 days straight...WOW!!

Lizette,

Next time when I need someone to fix my home office or office, I will give you a call :) Now, I know who to call :P .

Ray Saenz

I love the new look - good for you

Susie - I can't imagine doing the hard work he did all day and in the sun for 8 hours each day. I dn't know when he took a break because I never saw him resting.

Ray - Give me a call...i'll be right there!

Thesa - Thanks! A girl's gotta change things up every now and then!

Lizette, no way not me.  I would end up breaking my other arm which has already been replaced, and I am in no way going to take the time it took to do this great job.  It looks very nice, thanks for sharing with us.

P.S.  What is jakfruit ?  I wish we could go back to our different graphics when commenting. LOL

Lizette,

thanks, I know that I can count on you LOL !!!  keep the good work my friend.

Ray Saenz

Lizette, wow that was quite an undertaking....I would not be able to do it.  And I've had my deck pressure washed in the past because I didn't know :(  But it is old and just starting to break up, I think this winter will be the end of the old and time to get a new one.  Thanks for the advice, I'll know better next time!

Pressure washers are about the worst thing you can use around the house on anything except concrete.  Even then you need to be careful.

Oxygen bleach is also good for cleaning the mildew off the vinyl siding, brick, wood, etc on the shady side of the house.  Oxygen bleach won't harm your vegetation like a chlorine bleach will.

Too bad more sellers don't do this as I find myself explaining the mildew to buyers all the time.  Just another worry the seller's could easily remove before the buyers even see it.

 Find it anywhere on the interent.  I'm not sure how many stores carry it locally.

Erby, I wonder why it's such a secret? Who needs power washers when this stuff works like magic? I bought mine on the Internet and have given it away to many of my clients. It might work well cleaning grout on tile ..I haven't experimented with that yet.

Carole - I used this stuff on an old wood chair that was at least 15 years old. It was black from the weather. Cleaned it all off fine and I stained it again. Love Oxygen Bleach!

Lizette, I will have to try it on some other things, is it safe?  Like for outdoor furniture (not wood) and the side of my house (previously power washed too :( which has to be cleaned.   Gee, I've been calling someone in every year to powerwash!  Gald I read this, thank you!

Carole - It works great on outdoor furniture. I think it will be fine on your house too!

Lizette, I'll have to give it a try.  I didn't call the power washer this year anyway and parts of my house need some cleaning!  Thanks so much for the tips.

Carole,

It'll work fine on the siding of your house.  Much better for your house though perhaps a little more labor intensive.