Cedar Decking Maintenance Hassles

Cedar decking requires a lot of maintenance. How do I maintain a cedar deck you ask?

Firstly, it is important that you give your cedar deck a thorough cleaning once a year. This will not only remove dirt and mildew but other discoloration as well. Warm soapy water, a scrubbing brush, and some good old-fashioned elbow grease should get the job done! That is, if you haven’t got mildew build up! If you do have mildew on your cedar deck, then bleach is going to be necessary.

There are cleaners made by deck material manufacturers, which vary in their effectiveness to clean and maintain your deck. Warning: some of these chemical cleaners actually remove a part of the wood in attempts to revive the “like new”luster in your cedar deck. Obviously, if the chemicals are harsh enough to strip wood, they are probably not good for your health, let alone the environment.

Remember, cedar decking is a soft wood! Softwood cedar decks and power washers don’t mix very well! Power washing your cedar deck can easily permanently damage the surface of your decking.

The point is simply this: Cedar decking is beautiful, but it means spending a lot of precious summer time cleaning and scrubbing, and you have few options for making it easier or faster.

Duradek, on the other hand, has a wide variety of decking colors and textures to match any décor, and the best part about it is that a light cleaning is all it will need every year. It’s tuff, beautiful, low maintenance and adds value to your home.

Now that’s a decking solution that’s hard to beat!