Grain-safe method

Timber Deck Cleaning

A pressure washer will make a deck look clean and destroy it at the same time. It tears out the soft spring wood between the grain lines, leaving a furry, splintery surface that soaks up water and greys again within months.

Think Brick accredited
Fully insured
20+ years experience

Think Brick accredited

Fully insured

20+ years experience

Illawarra to the Highlands

Quick answer

How do you clean a timber deck without damaging it?

Timber decks should be cleaned chemically at low pressure rather than blasted. A timber cleaner or oxygen-based brightener lifts grey weathered fibre, mould and tannin, and is then rinsed at low pressure with the grain. High pressure erodes the soft spring wood between grain lines, leaving a raised, furry surface that absorbs water, greys faster and needs sanding before any oil or stain will sit properly.

At a glance

Method: Timber cleaner + low pressure rinse
Removes: Grey weathering, mould, tannin, old oil
Then: Ready for oil, stain or decking coat
Also: Pergolas, screens, cladding, hardwood fencing

What the grey actually is

Silver-grey timber is UV-degraded lignin — the natural binder between the wood fibres — that has broken down and been washed out of the top fraction of a millimetre. Beneath it the timber is normally sound and full of colour.

A proper clean removes that dead surface layer chemically and brings the colour back. It is a genuinely dramatic result on spotted gum, blackbutt and merbau, and it is the necessary first step before any oil or coating, because oil applied over grey fibre simply lifts off with it.

What we do

Alkaline timber clean to break down grey fibre, mould and old oil residue
Neutralising brightener to restore the natural pH and lift the colour
Low pressure rinse worked with the grain, never across it
Tannin and black iron staining around fixings addressed
Deck left ready for oiling, or coated as part of the same job

Coastal decks

Decks between Kiama and Jervis Bay cop salt, humidity and strong UV together. They need cleaning and re-oiling more often than an inland deck, and a deck kept on a regular cycle lasts dramatically longer than one left until the boards are cupping and splitting.

Coverage

Where we do timber deck cleaning

Illawarra

Wollongong · Shellharbour · Albion Park · Dapto · Kiama · Shell Cove

Shoalhaven

Nowra · Bomaderry · Vincentia · Huskisson · Berry · Culburra Beach · Ulladulla

Southern Highlands

Bowral · Mittagong · Moss Vale · Bundanoon

Sutherland Shire

Helensburgh · Engadine · Sutherland · Cronulla

Based at Warilla. Everything from Helensburgh to Ulladulla and inland to the Southern Highlands is inside our normal working area.

FAQ