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Mon–Fri: 7am–6pm, Sat: 8am–2pm, Sun: ClosedDeck & Fence Cleaning
Gray Boards Are Usually Still Good Boards
A deck goes gray because UV breaks down the surface fibers of the wood and mold colonizes what's left. It looks like the boards are worn out. Take that layer off and you generally find sound, honest-colored wood a fraction of a millimeter down, which is why cleaning a deck so often makes replacing it unnecessary.
The catch is that wood can't take pressure. This is the opposite of the concrete work: low pressure, the right cleaner, and patience. Done properly the boards come up clean and smooth. Done with a wand, they come up clean, furry and permanently tracked.
Get A Free EstimateWhat We Clean On A Deck Job
- Pressure-treated, cedar and mahogany decking
- Composite and PVC boards
- Railings, spindles, posts and stair stringers
- Porches, porch ceilings and screened enclosures
- Fences, gates, arbors and pergolas
- Outdoor furniture and play sets
- Under-deck skirting and lattice
How To Tell Your Deck Needs Cleaning
A deck rarely fails all at once. These are the stages, roughly in the order they show up.
The boards have gone gray or silver
UV has broken down the surface fibers. The wood underneath is usually still sound.
Black spotting or a green film in the shade
Mold and algae in the sections that dry slowest: under the railing, along the house wall, beneath the grill.
It's slick after rain
Biological growth on a walking surface. On stairs in particular this is the point to stop putting it off.
Railings darker than the deck floor
Vertical surfaces don't get scuffed clean by foot traffic, so they show the true condition of the whole structure.
Water no longer beads on the surface
The old finish has worn through. The wood is now absorbing water directly, which is how rot starts.
You're planning to stain or seal this season
Wash first, always. Finish applied over a dirty board seals the mold in and lifts within a season.
Three Steps, No Surprises
- 01
Measure And Quote
Deck area, railing runs, condition and species. One fixed price, given in writing before anything gets wet.
- 02
Clean At Low Pressure
Cleaner applied and given time to work, then a gentle rinse. No wand tracks, no furred boards, no scarred composite.
- 03
Dry Before Finish
If you're staining, we tell you exactly how long to leave it and coordinate with your painter so the timing lines up.
Wash Now If You're Staining Later
Stain and sealer bond to wood fiber, not to the film sitting on top of it. Put finish over a gray, moldy deck and you've sealed the mold underneath. It keeps growing, the finish lifts in sheets within a season, and the next person has to strip it all back off.
Wash first, let it dry fully, then finish. We'll tell you how long to wait based on the species, the exposure and the week's weather, and we're happy to coordinate directly with whoever is doing the staining so nobody's waiting on anybody.
Deck Cleaning Questions We Get Asked
Decks price by square footage and by how much railing there is. Spindles are slow, and a deck with three sides of railing takes longer than a deck twice its size with one. Condition matters too: a deck washed last year rinses off, a deck that's gone gray and green needs dwell time. You get one written number before we start.
It will if it's done at pressure. Wood is soft, and a wand held too close raises the grain, leaves fuzz, and cuts visible tracks that show through any stain you put on afterwards. We clean wood the way we clean siding, with a cleaner doing the work and a gentle rinse, so the boards come up clean and still smooth.
Yes, and more often than people expect. Composite doesn't rot, but the surface texture holds pollen and organic film, and in shade it grows the same black and green mold as anything else. It just needs a low-pressure wash and the right cleaner. A wand permanently scars the cap layer.
That's the best time to book. Stain doesn't bond to a dirty or gray board, and it locks in whatever mold is already there. We wash, then leave the deck to dry fully (usually two to three days depending on weather) before anyone puts finish on it. If you're hiring a painter, we'll coordinate the timing with them.
Central Vermont, Woodstock through Montpelier: Barre, Berlin, Northfield, Waterbury, Waitsfield, Randolph, Bethel, White River Junction and the towns between.
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