NEW DECK SEALING QUESTIONS
If you ask many different people you will receive many different answers about cleaning and sealing your NEW wood deck. Is it necessary to apply a sealer to a brand new wood deck? Do you need to clean new wood before applying the sealer? What is the best method to clean new wood decks? What is the best weather to clean and seal decks?
Out of curiosity, ask employees of home centers and paint stores how to approach deck cleaning and sealing jobs. You probably won?t get the same recommendation from two different people. What's worse, there is a considerable amount of questionable and contradictory information being distributed.
Unprotected wood is immediately attacked as soon as it is exposed to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays and water from snow, rainfall, and dew. The UV rays actually blast apart the wood cells on a microscopic level. This damage permits water to penetrate deep into the wood. This water can accelerate wood rot in untreated lumbers such as cedar and redwood. In addition, repeated water soakings lead to excessive shrink and swell cycles that result in cracking, cupping, and twisting. For these reasons, it is necessary for you to quickly seal any wood product that is exposed to outdoor elements.
Independent lab tests have shown that it really pays to clean new wood before it is sealed. The lab results indicate that sealers can penetrate up to 25 percent deeper into new wood that has been cleaned with an Oxygen bleach solution. The cleaning action opens the wood pores of the freshly milled lumber. Oxygen bleach is a unique product. It does not remove the natural color from wood. What's more, it is non-toxic to plants that surround your wood deck. It also does not harm wood fibers. And remember, existing wood decks have to be deep cleaned before they are sealed.
"Chlorine bleach" - sodium hypochlorite - is a fantastic sanitizing product if you want to kill germs and mold, however, in the novices hands it can create havoc when used on wood. Used improperly, sodium hypochlorite can remove natural wood color, destroy wood lignin (the glue that holds wood fibers together), can corrode metal deck fasteners and hardware, and can kill vegetation that surrounds decks.
Overall disappointment with many wood deck-sealing products is shared by many consumers and testing labs. Apparently many of the commonly available deck sealants contain wood protecting resins made from natural products such as tung oil, vegetable oil, linseed oil, and animal fat. These oils are gourmet foods for mildew and algae and can actually promote mildew growth. To slow down mildew and algae growth, the sealers often contain toxic fungicides and mildewcides. I also believe a lot of people are disappointed with deck sealing products because of their expectation as to the longevity of the color retention of most sealers. Due to the dynamics of a deck you?re not going to get the same wear and color retention you get on say your siding. People have to learn to accept the fact their deck will require regular maintenance.
I have found that cooler weather with daytime temperatures of 60 - 70 F are best for cleaning and sealing decks. The cleaners do not evaporate quickly and the penetrating water repellents have adequate time to seep deeply into the wood before the sun can evaporate them. Avoid hot, windy summer days for deck cleaning and sealing.
