Deck Cleaning in China Township

A back deck usually gets less sun than the front of the house. Most face a backyard, and in the township's northern and western sections that backyard often ends at a woodlot. Leaves collect between the boards, hold moisture, and feed a green film of algae and mildew that turns slick by fall. Under the deck the shade is deeper still, and the joists and the underside of the boards stay damp long after a rain. A cleaning that kills the growth and rinses it out of the board gaps slows how quickly it returns. Many decks went up with their houses, and about 46% of the township's homes date from 1990 to 2009, so an original deck on one of them has been through 17 or more wet springs and humid summers.

Homes close to the Belle River and Pine River valleys add humidity. A deck that overlooks the wetlands along either river, or the mapped floodplain along the Harris Drain, sits beside ground that stays wet after rain and sees heavy dew on many mornings. Wood takes up that moisture in its grain, and its surface fibers turn gray and loosen. Composite resists rot, but the film grows on it too, along with the dark spots that form under leaf piles left through the winter. Composite boards follow their maker's care guide, and the cleaner and pressure are matched to the brand.

A deck cleaning begins at $199 and is figured at $1 to $2 for each square foot, with railings, stairs and skirting included, so a large deck and a small platform are priced by the same measure. Wood that will be stained needs a dry spell after cleaning, which our guide to the staining wait covers. On a shaded deck, stain also goes on better once the green film is gone, because the stain can then reach bare wood.

Carved Growth Rings on Valley Decks

A tight, high-pressure stream on softwood boards tears out the soft wood between the growth rings, leaving each board furry to the touch and ridged. Those ridges hold water and grow film sooner on a deck that is already shaded or facing the Belle River valley. On composite, a narrow tip held close can scar the surface for good. A strong bleach mix left to dry on wood can discolor it and weaken the fibers, and runoff from it can brown the beds beside the deck.

When to Book Deck Cleaning in China Township

Deck cleaning works from spring through early fall on a day above freezing. For wood that will be stained, early or late summer leaves time for the boards to dry before the stain goes on. On a deck backed by a woodlot, the fall cleaning after the leaf drop matters most, since it clears the leaf piles that would otherwise sit on the boards all winter and leave dark marks.