Cleaning wooden decking.

[Paul555]

Hello guys...Could do with a bit of advice, please.
I have a wooden decked area about 3m x 6m, laid and stained 3yrs ago. Unfortunately it stands next to a large leylandii hedge and that green algae stuff has started to make a bit of a mess on it. I've tried jet washing it with some limited success but I was wondering if any of you can recommend, or have any experience of using some kind of algae remover? I'm thinking some spray I can apply to the wood to help lift the stuff maybe?
Any advice would be much appreciated..

 

[eribaMotters]

I would not buy an expensive algae remover. Mix one part bleach with 4 parts water. Mop it on and leave for 24 hours. Repeat and wash off after another 24hrs.
The problem may lie with the finish you have applied. 30 years ago I was given an earful by friends and neighbours when I spent a comparative fortune on Iroko decking and stainless screws. It used to get a light jet wash once a year and that was it. After the wash it was a lovely yellow brown that faded to grey over the year. It never had a surface finish applied and when we moved 5 years ago it was in excellent condition.

Colin

 

[Alasdair]

Try BAC50 It will kill and remove algae,lichen and moss etc. They use it on roofs and decking. Its the ingredient in some decking cleaners. Another option is spray with vinegar which will kill the algae.

 

[TRITON]

I believe the old way, as in wooden decks, was a hand scrubbing brush, sand and plenty of water.

You could become a scrubber

In all honesty, due to increased water being about more, and in the presence of the hedge there might be little that you can do to wholly prevent it, other than to increase its cleaning from once every year or couple of years to 6 monthly.

 

[ian33a]

Warm water in a bucket, a few caps of bleach and a splodge of cold water washing powder or liquid . Agitate it nicely in a bucket and then soak the deck with water (make sure the sun isn't on it). Then scrub the solution into the deck with a stiff brush and leave it there for at least 15 minutes. Then gently hose it off with water. As an alternative you can use water, vinegar and baking soda.

It may require a couple of applications but it works nicely on our hard wood decks. I've never found the proprietary solutions anything other than average and expensive.

 

[Robbo60]

We use a product called "Wet & forget". (Amazon) Spray it on twice a year and forget. Dilutes 5:1, but sounds like you may have to use a stronger mix the first time.