Recipes for Homemade Deck Cleaners

Your deck is a beautiful feature in your home's backyard. It requires regular maintenance to look good and last for a long time. Hence, here are some recipes for homemade cleaners to maintain your deck:

To make a general cleaner for your deck, mix 1 gallon water with 1 cup of powdered laundry detergent and ¾ cup of oxygen bleach. Pour it on the surface and scrub lightly with a brush, leave it for around 5 to 10 minutes, scrub again, and then rinse with water. For a maintenance spray that could be used on decks that have no stains, 2 cups of household vinegar should be mixed with 1 gallon of water.

For stains that may be hard to remove, a heavy duty mix is needed. Mix 3 quarts of water with 1 cup of oxygen bleach and 1 cup of TSP (trisodium phosphate). Once applied to the surface, scrub with a stiff broom and leave for 10 minutes, then scrub again, and rinse. On the other hand, to fight mildew, mix 3 quarts of water with 1 cup of oxygen bleach and ¾ cup of liquid dishwasher detergent. When applied to the surface, brush and leave for 10 to 15 minutes, scrub again, and rinse.

Lastly, for stains on your deck, mix a tablespoon of oxalic acid crystals with 1 gallon of water. Apply it to the stains and leave until the stains are gone and rinse well.

Hotel Biz: Pressure Washing Vs. Regular Cleaning

After years on the drawing board, months in construction, and weeks in finishing up the last details, you finally have a nice outdoor area for guests staying at your hotel. A nice bricked path, a fountain in the middle, and all around it is a beautiful garden that could definitely catch the eyes of every passerby.

Fast forward a few months and you'll start to see stains on the concrete and brick, and your fountain isn't as scenic as it used to be because of all the moss and dirt around it. Luckily, there are professionals who can get rid of the grime and make your outdoors look fresh as it had been on day one.

Cleaning concrete, brick, and asphalt is pretty easy, but getting the stains off of them is not. Luckily, most of these materials are dyed through and through, so all you need is a steel brush, sand blaster, or a pressure washer to etch a bit of the concrete and make them look good as new. This would work well for stains that are hard to remove like paint, oil, or varnish.

While brushing away is also a possible solution, the brush isn't powerful enough at times, and getting the dirt out of porous materials can be difficult without a pressure washer. Just remember to dial the pressure down a bit, and wash away carefully.

Cleaning Your Way to a Lovely Deck

Enjoying drinks and entertaining guests is fun to do when you're at your deck. A cool glass of champagne or some red wine, perhaps bits of Gouda and mozzarella on biscuits, and some nice bite-sized sandwiches would be great as you watch the setting of the sun while sitting back, relaxing, and having light conversation with your loved ones.

However, when you leave a deck unwashed and unmaintained for long periods of time, things could get a bit grimy, slippery, and downright disgusting. When that starts to happen, you better grab a brush, some soap, and a pressure washer to get that deck looking as pristine as if it were brand new.

Pressure washing is a great way to get rid of dirt, molds, and other clingy substances on various surfaces. These things could really stick hard to a deck, especially when they're made entirely out of wood. Incorrectly using a pressure washer on wood, however, could lead to permanent and costly damage. A pressure setting of 500-600 psi is the safest.

You could also put a bit of detergent to get the dirt off, but make sure to use mild ones and dilute it in water. Just give the deck a good wash, brush hard to reach places, give it a rinse, and let it dry. If you're thinking of putting new paint on it, make sure to give it a week to dry properly.

Fight Off Artillery Fungus

If you see a rash of dark-brown or black specks on your car, siding, or any other surfaces around your house that are hard to remove, you probably have a case of something called artillery fungus. According to experts who have been tirelessly seeking ways to control and eradicate this problem,  artillery fungus has become increasingly common in recent years in homes all over America.

More popularly known as “shotgun fungus”, artillery fungus usually originates from organic matter, such as wood-chip mulch found around flowers, shrubs, and other plants. When mulch rots or becomes excessively moist, it breeds small mushrooms that can shoot off spores as far as 20 feet. These spores, which are often mistaken for bits of tar or insect waste, stubbornly cling to surfaces around the house.

Once you have an artillery fungus problem, call a power-washing professional immediately. If the problem is common in your area, they have probably dealt with the problem before, and will know how to handle it efficiently. Don't let the fungus linger for weeks though; complete cleaning without damaging the surface is only possible if power-washing is done within a few weeks of a fungal outbreak.

You may try to perform the cleaning yourself, as there are various methods to get rid of the fungus including scraping and brushing it off yourself. Just be sure you know what you're doing, lest you run the risk of damaging the surface they cling on.

How to Clean Off Egg Stains on Your Wall

Kids will have their fun regardless of who they hurt and what they damage, that's why you'll often hear of homeowners complaining about egg stains on their exterior wall. These incidents are more common than you think, and they mostly happen when schools are closed.

If your house has been “egged”, there's no guarantee that the stain will be removed completely after you hose down your wall. Eggs can damage paint, and unless it's wiped off before the egg dries, the damage could be permanent.

Now that you understand this, it's important that you call a pressure-washing company as soon as you discover that your house has been egged. Better yet, have a power washer handy so you can immediately clean the mess yourself. Just be sure to use the appropriate setting so you won't end up peeling the paint or denting the surface. Ideally, you should keep the washer nozzle at least a foot away from your siding or wall.

Since egg is protein, you might also try using an enzyme-containing detergent. Most detergents already contain enzymes, but check the ingredients just to be sure. Add a little cold water to the detergent to make a paste, then apply to the egged area. Once the stain is removed, rinse the area thoroughly.

Pressure Washing Basics: How It Works

Pressure or power washers use high levels of water pressure (often measured in psi) to thoroughly clean surfaces. Bleach and other cleaning solutions can also be used to remove stains, mold, and other substances that doesn't easily come off by force. Since high-velocity water spray is involved, many experts recommend that homeowners hire contractors to do the power washing instead of doing it themselves.

In general, the pressure washing process has four main components; liquid flow rate, cleaning solution, heat, and pressure. A typical power washer, however, does not include all four elements simultaneously, so you might find that there are variants without a cleaning solution feature, but has stronger pressure and flow rate, and a more efficient heater than one that allows for cleaners.

A pressure washer is composed of a gas or electric motor hooked up to a water pump, which is in turn connected to a nozzle. This is pretty much like how your water hose works – that is if your municipal water supply is capable of delivering anywhere from 750 to 30,000 psi through your tap.

There are various attachments that serve to make the pressure washer perform more efficiently. A rotating brush, for instance, cleans the metal surfaces of trucks and boats. A water broom attachment, on the other hand, breaks up the water flow into sprays that can clean driveways thoroughly.

Essential Tips for Cleaning Concrete Floors

Concrete is one of the most durable materials that your home can use as floors, especially for garages, driveways, patios, and any other place that takes on heavy traffic on a regular basis. It's not enough that you have a concrete floor, though, since you also need to maintain it properly and clean it often.

Use a dry mop, preferably one with a soft, cotton head, to wipe across interior concrete floors to get rid of collected dust and debris. Then, dampen the mop with a solution of water and a mild dish detergent or cleanser. To keep moisture from permeating and damaging your concrete flooring, wash and dry the entire surface in small sections so nothing remains wet for a long period of time.

To remove stains from your interior floor, apply a dry laundry detergent on the affected surface and let it sit for approximately 10 minutes. After which, scrub the area with a nylon brush and warm water. For concrete floors outside your home, however, a diluted bleach solution might be best, using the same cleaning techniques as mentioned above.

Cleaning and sealing your exterior concrete floor is extremely important, since these surfaces take in the full force of natural elements. An ordinary water hose might provide sufficient pressure to wash away accumulated dirt and debris, but if you want a more thorough clean, though, you can always opt to hire cleaning professionals to power wash your concrete floors.

Choosing the Right Pressure Washer

It's normal for homeowners to find themselves having a hard time deciding which pressure washing equipment to buy. There are a lot of models to choose from ranging from portable electric washers to huge, gasoline-powered high-pressure washing equipment. Clearly, choosing which unit to purchase can understandably turn out to be quite the dilemma.

If you plan to do power washing occasionally, a small electric model will suffice. However, if you expect to do it frequently, you'll need the extra power that only gas-powered pressure washers provide. Of course, you'll have to pay more for a gas-powered washer, but its durability will make it the more cost-effective option in the long run.

A good strategy when choosing the right pressure washer size is to step up to the next model with a higher capacity, from the equipment you deem ideal for the job. Following this tip affords a bit of assurance that your pressure washer will be able to handle bigger cleaning jobs that may come up in the future.

One important reminder before you get started with pressure washing—don't get carried away. Until you become familiar with the equipment, set it at low. You'll quickly learn that using a little pressure is enough to go a long way. Increase the power slowly until you get a good grip of the equipment and its full capacity. 

Deck Railing Choices for Your Home

Railings for deck application have greatly improved over the last 10 years in terms of material, design, and durability. Since the rails give an accent to your deck, you need to choose one that fits well with your deck flooring, and matches the style and color scheme of your house. Railings are a important design features for any deck, so it's highly recommended that you get one that suits your budget and your taste.

The most popular railing materials these days are composite and metal because both offer the advantage of low maintenance. Rails made of glass are a good option for those who want sleek and modern-looking railings, or simply one that preserves the view. Stainless steel cable rails are easy to install and can provide your deck with an extraordinary industrial look. There is also the common wood rail if you have a country style home or a log cabin.

Most railing systems are sold as kits and are fairly easy to install. Prices range from about $15 per linear foot for a basic pressure-treated wood rail to over $120 per linear foot for an aluminum-framed glass railing system. You can learn more about how each system is installed by talking to a local supplier you can trust.