How To Clean Mildew Off Deck Railing

Whatever permanent outdoor surface needs to exist cleaned from time to time, and your vinyl deck is no exception. While the benefits of having a vinyl deck include no sanding, staining or re-coating of any kind, your deck will await its all-time with a seasonal cleaning (most 4 times a year). Sometimes, however, there are contributing factors in your environment that may cause you to crave more than a general cleaning on your deck'south surface.

One of these factors is mold and fungi which in some areas nether sure conditions can be a troublesome maintenance issue similar that experienced by some homeowners in Florida experiencing greenish and black growth on their metal roofs.

The lesser line is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to command all of the factors that contribute to mold growth and your best defense to keep your vinyl deck clear of fungus and mold is a full general cleaning 4 times a year.

Step I – Get-go With a Full general Cleaning

Ideally, your vinyl deck should be cleaned at to the lowest degree 4 times per twelvemonth (more often if acrid rain or airborne pollution is a problem in your expanse) using Duradek vinyl cleaner which is bachelor from your authorized Duradek contractor or direct from Duradek. Follow the directions on the label.

This cleaner is designed for vinyl and will NOT leave a harmful chemical residual like many household cleaners may. Employ warm h2o and a stiff broom, scrubbing in a circular move to loosen the dirt. Spray with a garden hose (under force per unit area) to wash away the loose dirt. Flush thoroughly with clean h2o.

Notation: It is very important to remove all residue from cleaners used on your deck . While the cleaner itself may be gentle enough, information technology is when the sunday 'bakes' the chemicals into the surface that your deck can experience discoloration.

Step Two – Mold and Fungi Removal Recommendations

Sooty Mold - image from USDA Forsest Service.

Both Artillery Fungus and Sooty Mold have like cleaning procedures. For plastic and painted surfaces that might take sooty mold, the USDA recommends:

1/three cup powdered household detergent
i quart household liquid bleach
2/three a cup of Trisodium phosphate
iii quarts of water

(be sure to use rubber gloves when cleaning with this solution)

Clorox® recommends using their "Outdoor Bleach" product diluted at a rate of 1 part Outdoor Bleach to 6 parts water, equally per their recommendations for cleaning vinyl surfaces. Apply early or late in the day when the membrane surface is cool to the impact. Use solution with a garden sprayer and allow to sit on the surface for a minimum of 10 minutes. Re-use the solution to areas that begin to dry out during this period.

Use a soft bristle brush on a pole to scrub the membrane surface. Small remaining spots can be cleaned using a firmer bristle brush. So rinse the entire surface area thoroughly with a garden hose.

Note: at the time of publishing this article, Clorox® Outdoor Bleach is non available in Canada. When using any cleaner, make sure the manufacturer recommends their product is suitable for outdoor vinyl products and their written instructions are followed.

Sooty Mold on Duradek vinyl deck.

Sooty Mold on Duradek vinyl deck.
Photo by Duradek MidAtlantic.

Duradek Vinyl Deck

Duradek vinyl deck after sooty mold removal.
Photograph by Duradek MidAtlantic

Details on Common Mold and Fungus

Artillery Fungus are dark raised spots about the size of a pencil tip that practise not melt into a larger circumvolve.

For further information on how to command established Artillery Fungus in footing cover, come across this certificate from the Penn State Academy website.

Sooty Mold is a dark fungi which leaves dark spots or darkish areas which look like, well, soot.

For further information on how to control Sooty Mold, go to Virginia Tech website.

Detailed Case Study

If yous are experiencing difficult-to-remove mold on your deck, you may be interested in reading this excellent example study that was conducted past Duradek distributor, Duradek MidAtlantic which documents the diagnosis and removal of Sooty Mold. Refer to Case Study – Diagnosing and Removing Mold From Duradek.

Meet also, Duradek'due south Care & Cleaning Recommendations for your Duradek Vinyl Deck.