Opinions on Bleach...

Is it OK to use bleach on wood?

  • Yes

    Votes: 62 29.1%
  • Sometimes

    Votes: 73 34.3%
  • Absolutely not

    Votes: 58 27.2%
  • Don't Know

    Votes: 20 9.4%

  • Total voters
    213

Seymore

New Member
I agree too never killed any plants either. I only cover flowering plants till i'm done spraying bleach the flowers drop like flies.The hardy green bushes are no problem as long as I rinse off the leaves REAL well!
 
E

Ed@PreClean

Guest
Dilute-dilute-dilute

I'm with Flying-D properly diluting bleach is fine as long as there isn't any plants around. Think about it. 1 cup of bleach in your washing machine with 5-8 gallons of water. Your whites are whiter. You wear the clothes with bleach residue next to your sensitive skin. No problem! Now soak your old favorite Converse basketball shoes in the sink with a cup of bleach. 2 days later the material is falling apart. It's all in the mix!

ED
 
W

Walter Kahler

Guest
Using Bleach

The type of climate makes a big difference in using bleach as a power washing cleaner. I power wash in Atlanta, Georgia and the climate is brutal. High humidty ccoupled with rain breeds algae and mildew. I use bleach and have not had any complaints from my customers. Down stream chemical injecters with control flow safely mix the bleach with h2o. Throughly wetting down all plants close to the surfaces to clean will elimate any damages to them. However Japaneese maples are very delicate and require covering.
 

kap123

New Member
Mike Hughes said:
Thought this would be interesting................

Of course, I am referring to using it to clean decks that are merely dirty........not for decks that have a failing finish.

Mike
hi am thinking of doing somerestortion on my wood fence.show i bleach it and do you have before and after pictures of a wood fence. that has been bleached and washed and stained in a semi-gloss stain. thanks
 

kap123

New Member
[white] [white]
Mike Hughes said:
Thought this would be interesting................

Of course, I am referring to using it to clean decks that are merely dirty........not for decks that have a failing finish.

Mike
hi am thinking of doing somerestortion on my wood fence.show i bleach it and do you have before and after pictures of a wood fence. that has been bleached and washed and stained in a semi-gloss stain. thanks
 

bMOORECL

New Member
Bleach uses

I will like to say,I use biograble bleach and tsp, and tide.When washing my houses.I had no problem.We wash ours cloth in it.The most important thing is mixture.I clean my shows with it,it never yellows,I brush it and than raise.See some of you guys think,you can spray on a product,wait than wash it off.But you have to scrub some thing.To loose up the dirt.
 
T

tlhfirelion

Guest
Jomaxx???

Any of you guys ever heard of/used a product called Jomaxx? It is a mildewicide that is sold at Lowes I discovered, and after using it I also found it to be quite popular with local pressure washers, deck cleaners etc. You do mix a very small amount of bleach in it, but it seems to work much better and quicker especially on vinyl siding compared to a bleach solution by itself. Just curious if the more experienced PW's and deck restorers in here have any feedback on it. Thanks.

Tim
 

CaroliProWash

New Member
Tim,

When we very first started out we used the Jomax/Bleach mixture until we found a contractor grade cleaner that has proven to be a time/money saver for us. We now prefer chemicals from Rowlett Pressure Cleaning mixed with our 15% sodium hypochlorite - much more effective for our housewashes. As far as decks go, we are not proponents of using bleach on decks or any wood for any reason. You will get as many opinions about bleach & wood as there are pressure washers - we just don't but that doesn't mean that others that use it are wrong. What it ALL comes down to is to know your chemicals, their purposes, how to use them to get the best results.

Celeste
 
T

tlhfirelion

Guest
Thanks...

For the advice Celeste. I find myself spending a lot of my free time either online or in the local hardware stores reading bottles and getting to know the different product names and what not. I had an interesting local guy tell me something the other day about cleaning decks. He said that he had a local pressure washer a few years back (no longer in business) that would swear by generic draino to clean decks. I forget the name of the product but he said for some reason it worked wonder on cleaning and brightening decks. Ever heard of this type of thing or is this the reason why he is no longer in business? :D

Tim
 

CaroliProWash

New Member
The main ingredient in Drano is Sodium Hydroxide - which is what we use to strip old finishes from decks....so I guess in theory, it might work, however, I wouldn't think that it would be very cost effective. Drano also contains sodium hypochlorite (bleach).

Just in case anyone may be remotely interested in how I know this off the top of my head - we had the drain clog from hell a couple of weeks ago and busted it up with Steve Rowlett's RM2X (sodium hydroxide). I recall a thread somewhere where someone also said that sodium hydroxide was the same as lye - which is in drano :)

As far as why the guy isn't is business? How would you like to see somebody putting drano on your deck????? LOL Perception matters!

Celeste
 

TheHoodGuy

New Member
I saw a picture once of wood samples placed under a microscope. One was cleaned with bleach the other with sodium percarbonate. The sample of the bleach cleaned wood looked like a tangled mess and the author of this particular page concluded that this method (bleach cleaning) resulted in serious penetration issues for any type of sealer. This guy made a convincing arguement and he was some tree hugger with nine hundred initials like Phd, etc so I guess he knew his stuff. Take from this what you will.
 

Dan S

New Member
Bleach is only for the newbies and the wife to wash clothes with:)

It's funny>> But I got a call one day last year from this Lady. She said she called "Mo-Jo's Pressure washing" to do her deck, When they started slapping Bleach on it she stopped them and asked if they had anything else to clean with >>>> "OH said the dude this is the only thing that works". She replied>> Your bid was for 700.00 to clean it and your using .o59 cent a gallon Bleach. She said she told them to pack up and take their bleach home and give it to their wife. I thought it was funny!!

Not only does Bleach do damage But it stinks,kills plants,and is not very professional to use, as a mobile washer. You need to be 3 steps ahead of your competition. Any body can buy a pump - up sprayer 10 gals of bleach and a Wal-mart pressure washer. If you want to be on top stay away from the chem. that your wife use's to wash your whity tightys.
 

Olly

New Member
been useing bleach for 15 years on the same decks still looks great tried the deck wash same results waste of my clients money
 

Mark

Moderator / Sponsor
http://wolman.com/faqs.asp?faq_id=4

www.wolman.com
http://www.wolman.com/contractor.asp



Frequently Asked Questions

Surface Preparation

Q: Can I use household bleach to clean a deck?

A: No, we do not recommend using household bleach, because it is not effective in removing two of the three culprits in producing a weathered gray deck: ground-in dirt and UV degraded surface fibers. When you use chlorine bleach-based solutions (sodium hypochlorite) to clean a wood surface, all you are doing is removing the mildew stains. While using a bleach-based commercial product can show a dramatic change in color as the mildew is removed, dirt, debris and degraded surface fibers remain. Left behind on the surface, this white-washed residue will contribute to coating failures. In fact, in our laboratory tests comparing the performance of chlorine bleach solutions against our formulated Deck & Fence Brightener products, coating failures have appeared 60% faster over chlorine-bleach prepared surfaces.

Remember, you would never do laundry with bleach only and expect to have clean clothes!
 

jdmartin

New Member
Personally I like using Wolman product line for all my wood needs, fences, decks. I use the briteners then the sealers or stains. Also if you have a heated pressure washer to remove the striper or briteners once you let them set and dwell for 10 to 15 mins that makes a difference. Heat does wonders but that is my opinion. Set the temp to 120 deg and clean away. I do use sodium hypocholite with a degreaser cleaner mix for vinyl siding and works good for me. I know everyone has some excellent thoughts and ideas. Its funny because with me being in the military and working part time for myself you see alot of experience in these message forums. Some good and maybe some bad but just take it for what things are people trying to help and educate each other.
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
Hey Squid!...

Try using 90 degree water, it will work just as good and it's less harsh on the wood surface. Using hot water really isn't recommended but if your going to do it, use as little as possible. Good luck in the tidewater area! I used to be stationed at Oceana with the starfighters on the USS America.

(A0)
(Population Control Technician!)
 

jdmartin

New Member
Stationed at oceana? I am guessing that is NAS Oceana Master Jet Base in Virginia Beach, VA. I retire next year, just wondering.
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
Yep, NAS Oceana, I don't know about the Master Jet Base thing... There were a lot of squadrons based there but I don't remember it being listed as a master base.

What's your rate and who are you attached to?
 

jdmartin

New Member
I am with VFA-103, jolly rogers, skull and bones logo on the tails. The sign out front of the base does say NAS Oceana, Master Jet Base. I retire next year so I have been doing pressure washing now for a few years plus wood cleaning, sealing and staining. Just trying to have something rolling once I retire. Also AM is my rating, Airframer.
 

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