Tim, how do you continue to hold on to your incessant desire to be right in everything? Quit claiming to be the end all expert for topics you have no experience, no training, and no livelihood in. All I do, every day, every year is restore decks. So do countless of my colleagues. I don't do electrical, I don't do construction, my company does ONE thing and one thing only: Deck restoration, cleaning, and staining. It is people like you that make my job harder. It amazes me that people will take the word of a newspaper columnist over that of a professional with decades of experiance restoring wood. If you knew anything about our industry or pressure washing, you would realize that all professionals swear by LOW pressure washing, letting the cleaners do the work. You think it would be funny to see our reaction to your handful of letters...Id like to see your reaction on how to remove 3 layers of solid stain from a 1500 square foot pressure treated deck using your 5 gallon bucket of oxygen bleach and little scrub brush. Get a clue and quit giving false advice on topics you aren't qualified to speak on

Tim, I understand your dilemma. Once you are in the public spotlight, you will have dissenters to whatever it is you discuss or form opinion. Being in your position holds a responsibility to properly research facts and not only formulate your own opinion without bias but have a willingness to rethink your position occasionally.

In this case there seems to be a butting of heads that is unneccesary. Both sides are correct. Tim, yes, there are more homeowners and hacks out there tearing up decks with a PW'er than there are responsible people taking time to learn the caveats of wood restoration. I have spent that time, Tim. I own a company that sells wood restoration products nationwide and in Canada. I also have personally restored and sealed hundreds of decks many of them with replacement value nearing $100,000. Do you honestly believe my company would be in business if we caused more damage than restoration?

I think your opinion is formulated around the use of high pressure. Again, you are corect. High pressure is the antithesis of wood restoration. What you are failing to hear is that a pressure washer is capable of outputting a couple hundred psi with the right nozzle. That's a pressure one could stick a child's hand in front of and it would not hurt them.

These professionals, including myself (with 4 crews and 14 employees with uniforms and everything!) agree with you. Let the chemicals do the work. Sometimes that chem is sodium percarbonate, sometimes something stronger is needed. Its up to the expert in the field to make the most sound decision as to technique with respect to causing the least amount of trauma to the wood. Rinsing a deck with a few hundred psi hitting the wood will not cause damage.

Tim, you may continue to say what you are saying and call it based upon fact. Pressure washers, guns, knives, any power tool.. these are all things that become dangerous in the wrong hands. Please, Tim, educate people, sell products, market yourself but be fair enough to report the findings of experts. I'm sure there are plenty of idiotic, wannabe contractors and homeowners that have sawed off their fingers using a circular saw improperly. Will you now report to never use a powered saw on wood because of it?

I would say from a DIY perspective Tim is right and that appears to be the case with Sheryls comment above. If your determined to do it yourself take the safer route and use a product like stainsolver or restore-a-deck. Anyone unfamiliar with the tools at hand and the proper methods of use can cause damage to virtually any substrate. Oxygen bleach is a great product although it certainly has its limitations and in our business we do far more removal of failed finishes than simply cleaning of decks. This unfortunately is often an area where oxygen bleach alone cannot perform. One last piece of advise to anyone hiring out a deck refinishing project or any other task for that matter. CHECK REFERENCES! It's pretty easy to see who knows how to do the work properly be it a deck, plumbing, painting, or even lawn care by simply seeing if past customers were happy. The same can be said for the products being touted here... check for happy customers.

Greg Rentschler
TimberSeal, LLC
www.timberseal.net

Hi Tim,

Love to read your articles. I went the the DEFY website to learn more about the Epoxy deck finish you suggest and viewed their cleaning video also. Within the video they say a power washer is okay to use at low pressure with some other guidelines as well. Is Defy providing sound advice if it's used properly? Im looking to clean my deck soon but save as much of my back as possible as well.

Tim,
You obviously have a rather large public forum to spread your opinions, of course I had never heard of you until I had read about your spread of misinformation on a PROFESSIONAL pressure cleaning forum that I frequent. My point being, research the topic before spewing fale information.

Good Day,
Mike Vidan
All American Pressure Cleaning
www.CleanSavannah.com

I agree with Ken... Detergents and knowledge will make the difference whether or not a deck is damaged. Don't blame the machine. Blame its' user. Tim, your energy would be better spent educating your followers on how to identify PROFESSIONAL contractors versus hacks with a few tools. This would help them more. I am not saying that Oxy/bleach doesn't work. It is great on certain projects where there is no sealer to be removed. Also, for a Professional that needs to be efficient to compete with DIY products/prices and/or unskilled hacks with no real business expenses, the oxy/bleach and brush method is too labor(a businesses largest expense) intensive. Charlie S. said it well... It isn't feesible to try and strip 3 layers of a failing acrylic solid stain from a 1500 sqft deck with a brush and weak oxy/bleach. Consumers are already skeptical of paying any money much less the amount it takes to run a legit skilled service business due to folks saying this is easy or hearing about the local neighborhood handyman that only charged pennies to do the work. This is detrimental to your followers as well as the REAl Pros that do this for a living. We already battle the weekend, beer money hacks... why should we be battling advice given to Home Owners by a well respected "expert"?

Michael Kreisle
http://www.firstchoicepowerwashing.com

Tim,

While there is a good bit of truth in your article, it is wrapped in a self-serving cloak that makes the entire article worthless.

Spreading inappropriate fear is just as bad as a hack contractor telling people his destructive methods are ok. The goal and end result is the same, to mislead a customer for personal gain.

I would suggest you re-read Mr. Fenners post and consider re-writing your article.

Philip
PowerHouse Pressure Washing

Okay, I am going to respond to Charlie, Greg, Ken, Jon, Mike, Michael and Philip with this one response.

Go back up and read the article above again. I say "high" pressure.

Those who have commented that have a skin in the game - meaning that you own a company that does pressure washing - well, it is really hard for someone outside of this debate to listen to you objectively. Of course you are going to vigorously defend what you do. If you didn't, your customers would have no confidence in you.

You need to realize the article above is part of a series. To get the full content, you must read any of my columns that have the number 315 in the URL. Just insert that number in the search box above to discover them.

If you read all of my deck-cleaning articles you will discover that I have also cleaned many decks. I have experience.

Those of you who are in the deck-cleaning business I feel are missing the point. Some consumers out there are telling you they want a cleaning job done a certain way. Why not give them that option? If it is harder work and takes more time, charge them more. But for goodness sake, give them the option. If a person wants you to use a cleaning solution and a scrub brush, make that a profit center, not a non-discussion point.

The bottom line is that a low-pressure rinse done safely by someone who knows what they are doing will not hurt wood. My columns always refer to the use of high-pressure equipment that blasts the wood. We have all seen that.

Yes, all tools can be dangerous. People have impaled themselves with seemingly harmless screwdrivers.

I will once again offer up a competition to any who have commented. If you want to do a side-by-side comparison of your machine against my method, arrange to come to my headquarters. I have dirty algae covered treated lumber waiting. You clean half your way and I will do the other half. We will have independent judges on site to tell all what the results are. I will arrange to videotape the entire proceedings. Remember, it is not a speed test, it is an abrasion test. I already admit that pressure washing is a faster method than what I propose.

The challenge is open. The video will tell the truth.

i seal the wrap-around deck around our home every year. and yes i pressure wash. a big advantage to pressure washing is that it uses very little water compared to a garden hose. another advantage is that it does not pollute the groundwater like chemicals do. but like all tools, it can do a lot of damage in the wrong hands.

the key to a pressure washer is not to keep the head a safe distance from the wood. other than that it is a wonderful tool.

and i might also mention that stripping your deck to the natural look with chemical cleaners is not a good idea. UV rays damage the wood. so go with a natural oil sealant and the darkest tint you can stomach.