Bleach??? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

woodchuck2 · 06-17-2008, 07:29 AM

I just took on a job of pressure washing a wrap around deck and washing the home that is sided with T1-11 and surrounded by Pine tree's. The home has sat for approx. 12-15 yrs with no maintenance so the deck and siding are dark with mildew,moss and are starting the process of decay. I usually use Crud Cutter or a deck wash to clean with but i had a fella tell me to use Clorox cut 50% with water to bleach the wood. He says to rinse the wood, lightly spray on clorox, let it sit for 15 minutes and the wash it off with low pressure water. He claims it will remove all the grime and bleach some color back into the wood. Have any of you folks heard of this or used this method? I will be staining the house and deck when it is done but the owner is looking for a lighter finish. I told him no guaranties due to the lack of maintenance and condition.

Any Season · 06-17-2008, 07:36 AM

Krud Kutter is a great cleaning agent but I always use bleach, and this year I started subbing out my washing for homes we are painting and he uses bleach also. Especially when you factor cost into it, cut to the chase and go with bleach.

Giftcard · 06-17-2008, 08:17 AM

Some cities don't allow the use of bleach.

MALCO.New.York · 06-17-2008, 09:10 AM

Bleach..................But 2:1 (50%) sounds a BIT strong. A wee bit!

woodchuck2 · 06-17-2008, 03:59 PM

Thanks for the replies fella's, i will try the bleach then. I guess i will be wearing white those days

. The deck is approx. 850' square and the house is approx 2000' square.

Mike Finley · 06-17-2008, 06:44 PM

Back when I was involved with this kind of stuff house hold bleach was frowned upon and was the mark of a hack. There was a pressure washing or a deck restoration forum I belonged to and they all seemed to not be fans of house hold bleach for very substantial reasons, which I can't recall the specifics now. It seemed to me if I recall right they all were using some sort of special oxegenated bleach or something like that, I think it was more like a hydrogen peroixide sort of thing. You might want to look into it a bit before you go thowing house hold bleach on it.

I found the link to one of the sites: http://www.deckcare.org/forums/index.php

I don't know that much about it, but I thought you might want to know a little bit more.

MALCO.New.York · 06-17-2008, 07:12 PM

Oxalic Acid is the "Wood Bleach".

tom connelly · 06-18-2008, 12:06 PM

That doesn't sound like a good idea if you ask me. Besides how do you bleach color back into wood?! Bleach strips the colors and sugars out of the wood leaving it dry and faded looking. Bleach will surface kill the mildew but remember bleach doesn't remove stains it simply makes them invisible, it also deteriorates the wood by eating the lignens in it. Besides that 50% is way to strong. Personally I'm not to fond of Crud Cutter either, but it sure beats bleach.

Bleach is not recommended, unless you are using an oxygenated bleach blend as specified above, a sodium percarbonate or something of that nature.
EFC-38 by ESI is a very good cleaner, that will outperform your standard percarbonate cleaners every time.

Call Russell from Extreme Solutions and talk to him.
Russell # 1-636-288-8512

Gutter Clean & Power Wash
Hickory NC

Mike Finley · 06-18-2008, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MALCO.New.York

Oxalic Acid is the "Wood Bleach".

That's the one!

woodchuck2 · 06-19-2008, 08:23 PM

Thanks for the info guys, my brother-in-law refered me to a cleaner from Cabot formulated for this very condition so i may opt for that instead. I will check out the tips you have offered too, Thanks.

ccpc · 06-20-2008, 03:41 PM

The bleach debate in wood care is an issue that has been on going since wood care began.
I am a proponent of using bleach to clean wood that has been neglected for a long time. An oxygenated bleach is good for light cleans, but you will find that it will not work very well on a deck that has major build up. This will require something much stronger.
If the wood has an old failing stain or sealer, you may need to consider using a stripper.

tom connelly · 06-22-2008, 05:07 PM

Cabot cleaners are alright but they will eat you up in cost and time. You can do a better cleaning job with less time and money using extreme solutions cleaners. You can also use EaCo Chem's cleaners as well, they are very effective, and if used properly will save you lots of time and money.

Gutter Clean & Power Wash
Hickory NC

Blackhammer · 07-20-2008, 01:50 PM

I have not used bleach in any of my PW's because I heard it eats the seals in the pump. Is this true or just BS?

Giftcard · 07-20-2008, 02:36 PM

yes

Roof Cleaning · 07-22-2008, 10:56 AM

Not if you downstream it.
Just don't run bleach through the pump

MALCO.New.York · 07-22-2008, 11:36 AM

Brass and rubber really, really, REALLY do not like the Oxidizing powers of Bleach.

zukkoor · 07-28-2008, 03:29 PM

I use sodium hydroxide I have found that it actually cleans the wood and does not bleach it you get a much more natural color when you are done and it is much stronger than bleach. just be careful because it burns your skin.

MALCO.New.York · 07-28-2008, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zukkoor

I use sodium hydroxide I have found that it actually cleans the wood and does not bleach it you get a much more natural color when you are done and it is much stronger than bleach. just be careful because it burns your skin.

Lye....Drano.....NaOH, is a MoFo.........Careful

tom connelly · 07-29-2008, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zukkoor

I use sodium hydroxide I have found that it actually cleans the wood and does not bleach it you get a much more natural color when you are done and it is much stronger than bleach. just be careful because it burns your skin.

Unbuffered Sodium Hydroxide will also eat the lignens out, and with time your deck will degrade, it too will strip the natural oils out of the wood. It works great, but you need to expand the molecule so that it will not penetrate into the wood fibers, causing damage. The less damage you cause and the less sugars and oils you strip out of the wood, the less stain you will use, because you are not having to replace all of the natural oils that you have just stripped out. Thats why you want to avoid raw unbuffered chemistry.

The chemical cost of stripping and brightening a deck is around 2-5 cents a sq.ft. the cost of a stain is about 15 cents a sq.ft. It makes more sense to spend more on chemical to spend less on stain, as the price difference is so dramatic. Besides you will have a much better looking deck that will last longer.

Gutter Clean & Power Wash
Hickory NC

zukkoor · 07-29-2008, 01:57 PM

Well it is not straight NaOH that is just the active ingredient and it is concetrated. The product is called Powersolve. I have used it for five years and it does not strip any color out of the deck.