Deck Cleaning and Finishing Essentials

It’s spring and that means it’s time for exterior home maintenance. And when April rolls around in Wisconsin, it’s the ideal time to schedule deck cleaning and refinishing. That’s because the winter months can cause damage to your deck’s materials and finish.

Lakeside Painting has been cleaning and refinishing home decks since the very early days of the company—it’s one of our many exterior painting services. We continue to do it because, quite simply, it’s a service that any homeowner with a deck needs.

Let’s take a look at how you can give your home’s deck a facelift and make it last for years to come.

How to clean a wood deck

Cleaning a deck is first step in sprucing it up, and therefore not one to overlook. Over time, particularly over successive winters, water penetrates into the wood, resulting in mold and mildew build-up. This can lead to rot. And where there is rot there will be a lot of money spent fixing the deck or replacing it.

To clean decks, Lakeside Painting chemically treats any visible mold or mildew. We then power wash or hand scrub the deck, depending on the situation. Next, we hand scrap any remaining loose coating and, if required, sand the deck (this is not always necessary).

Staining the deck

After it’s been cleaned and prepared, it’s time to refinish the deck. By renewing the deck’s previous finish or giving it a new one, homeowners can extend the life of their deck and the finish itself.

To properly give the deck it’s old finish or a brand new one, it’s important to lay down one coat of stain and let it dry. A second coat of stain is required to complete the deck’s finish.

Book your deck project now

Since it’s early spring, Lakeside Painting still has openings in our schedule for the spring and summer. To talk to us about your deck project, email us at info@lakesidepainting.com.

And if the spring and summer months don’t work for you, we can still do deck cleaning and finishing for your home in the fall!