Faded decking

Sorry I can't help you out here on this one. Did you look at the container and see what "ingredients" was in it? I think I would be afraid to make my own, I would probably end up making something that would over power me with fumes. haha

I have noticed that most deckings have the ridges side of the planks are always facing up but I saw on a maintenance show on TV that the ridges should be facing down, something to do withair flow or something..maybe someone can tell us if theis is right or not because nearly all deckings I have seen are ridges up...

If it were me, I'd just use whatever I use to wash the indoors floor with and then rinse it off with clear water and leave to dry before applying the staining. You might have to scrub a little but it should do the trick. Just detergent in water would do it, I would think. Brightest Blessings.

You could use bleach and tsp in a pail of water, but it wouldn't be entirely environmental...

I've heard that decks are a lot of trouble. My neighbors spent most of the day Saturday power-spraying their deck, lawn furniture, etc. Seems like an awful lot of trouble.

Hi GRANDPA BOB, My husband used Flash floor cleaner on his deckings and it came out well, now my neighbours wants him to go and clean theirs as well, he has got a jet washer as well. Tamara

I suggest soap and water to get the decking as clean as possible then try painting your decking with a varnish to make the color look lovely. I cleaned my deck this spring and it came up looking much nicer. I do intend to varnish it this summer. I worried about upsetting my allergies though. Good luck with your decking my friend Grandpa Bob.

I honestly have no idea about homemade cleaners for cleaning your deck. The only thing I could think of is a power washer if you have one of those.

Hi Grandpa Bob! I asked my husband who's a retired general contractor and he said that the only alternative to the products they sell at Home Depot is soap and a pressure cleaner. It takes power to clean an old deck which is why they sell those chemical cleaners.

I good strong hose wash will work on a sunny day will work My mom sprayed her deck off with her garden hose and stained it and it turned out really good. well She did use some dawn dish liquid and a scrub brush. But it cleaned it up pretty good than she let it dry and stained it. It amazing what dawn can do.

The only thing I can think of is a power sprayer. And that hooks to your hose out side and you can rent one. No cleaners involed. just water. Maybe try that. Your friend onlydia

Though I havent tried it, I have been told just a half half mixture of bleach and water with a pressure washer works , so you might want to give it a try. At least it is cheap and if it works - yeah! If not , it cant hurt!

I found this site GrandPaBob. Try the one that says use oxygen bleach. Here is the link to the site I found. http://www.askthebuilder.com/DeckMaintenance.shtml

it's so nice.. help me so much

Personally I am not sure what would work the Best for you, but what we seem to always use to clean everything is a Cleaner from a wellness company, or a mixture of Lemon scented ammonia and water. I would think maybe if you did a search online you might be able to find things that others have recommended for things like this for sure.

We do not remember the name of what we used.. But my Dad said he got it from Menards... Home depot tends to be expensive on alot of things. Sorry I do not remember the name of it. Good thing I asked Dad lol. I thought my family just swept it and sprayed it with a hose lol... no they used a deck cleaner.. It might be expensive but its worth it instead of replacing the entire deck sooner in the long run I think :) . - DNatureofDTrain

We have the non-wood decking (can' remember what it's called right now). But even when we had wood, my husband would usually just use the pressure washer, no cleaner.

My other half did his mums last year and simply sprinkled salt on the decking and then used a scrubbing brush and soapy water over it and rinsed well - it came up a treat and was ready for staining in no time! xxx

Hmmm...I hadnt thought of needing to use a cleaner - i just borrow dad's pressure washer before i weatherproof and stain my decks. (need to do that yearly at my house for weather proofing I'll be repainting the one this year as well.)