TOPIC: NEVER Pressure Wash A Deck!

Note:  It says on the container to put any Penofin soaked rags or waste into a pail and fill it with water.  I figured it was a case of safety gone wild.  Not so.  I left a crumpled up rag laying around and it spontaneously caught fire. 

YIKES!

Yikes is right.  I brushed on the product and wiped of the excess with a rag (as per instructions.)  Part ways through the job I noticed that the rag was getting hot.  I figured the oil must be hanging on to the heat of the sun really well; it was a hot day.  After I was finished with the rags I had to reinstall seats and other paraphernalia, which took me about 2 hours.  At that point  there was a hole burned in the rags but no flames yet.    When I was cleaning up the rags looked after themselves.  I guess the instructions could say:  RAGS SELF DESTRUCT.

Jay,  their website gives a list of dealers.

Good info Jay.

Pressure washing a deck can still be done if you know what you are doing.
Unfortunately, so many don't.
Using most deck cleaner detergents out there, a liberal amount should be applied to the bare PT. wood and then wait 5-10 minutes.  Pressure needed for pressure washing your deck will be around 1500 PSI and the best tip for the job is a wide-angle tip of 25 to 40 degrees to create a wider spray to protect the wood from damage.

Do not use a hot water pressure washer on your deck. Remove any lose articles that may become projectiles when pushed by the pressure washer jet. Practice making a pendulum motion with the spray up, down, and up again away from the surface. With this motion you will avoid leaving marks on the deck were the cleaning stroke starts.

Test the pressure washer on some old boards or a hidden side of the deck to make sure that the pressure is adjusted correctly and the spray will not cause any damage to wood. Wear protective eye-wear and gloves.
Homeowners will screw it up every time using those Home D washers and a five degree tip or something.


I never washed mine in 21 years. Left to dry as PT for a year, then coated with a penetrating stain to a grey color I wanted and after re-coating every two years for about ten years, I switch to the same color in a solid stain that provides more of a filler and coating.

Many people make the mistake of staining a deck with solid color on he first or second year and it peels right down to bare PT.

Hope this helps to your good description of the damage of a pressure washer in the wrong hands. 

Thanks Marcel!  As always, good stuff...