Baton Rouge deck and fence washing

Deck cleaning in Baton Rouge for wood decks and fences

The deck went silver one board at a time, and nobody noticed until the photos from the last cookout. Deck cleaning in Baton Rouge pulls the gray out of wood boards and lifts the green from a shaded fence. The wash follows the grain, and the pressure matches the state of the wood.

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A man in safety glasses works a wand across the gray boards of a back wood deck on a deck cleaning visit, water fanning out from the tip, with a gas pressure washer on the grass below the deck.

How a deck and fence get washed

1. Furniture, grills and pots moved off the boards

Before anything is sprayed, we move chairs, cushions, side tables, the grill, pots and anything else sitting on the deck. If something is too heavy to move easily, we leave it with you and work around it. Pots against the fence get a quick watering.

2. The boards, rails and gaps looked over

We walk the deck with you and point out any loose boards, popped nails, splinters, soft spots at the ends and gaps that are wider than the rest. A soft spot or a split board is a repair question, not a wash one; we point out at the walk which parts we would rather not run water over before someone with a saw takes a look.

3. The boards washed along the grain

The wash runs the length of the board, with the grain, not across it. The pressure stays matched to the wood: a sun-bleached pine board is softer than a hardwood tread, and the pass is adjusted to each. If a board starts to fuzz, we back off.

4. Railings, steps and lattice

Railings get the top, the balusters, the under-rail and the hand grip. Steps get the tread and the riser. Lattice around the deck's base is washed from the yard side so the brace behind it does not catch too much water. Deck lights and anything plugged in are covered and avoided.

5. Fence pickets, posts and rails

The fence gets the pickets, the top rail, the lower rail and the posts, on both sides where we can reach from your yard. The side on your neighbor's property stays on their property. If the fence has lichen, which looks like a pale crust on the top of the posts and the rails, the wash goes gentle around it.

6. A rinse and a look at the lawn and beds

After the wash we rinse the deck down with clean water, so no cleaner sits on the boards. We walk the deck with you one more time. A board that is still off gets another pass, within reason; deep gray on wood that has not been stained for years will not go all the way back, and we say so at the end rather than keeping the hose on.

A tall wood privacy fence of weathered gray pickets along a back lawn, with a crape myrtle and live oak behind it and the grass trimmed flush at its base.

Material	What builds up	How it gets washed
Pine deck boards	Pollen, mildew, silvering under UV	A gentle pass along the grain
Older gray boards	Deep gray, mildew, a soft top layer	A lighter pass; some gray will stay
Composite boards	Pollen, mildew in shaded corners	Low pressure, cleaner does the lifting
Wood privacy fence	Green film on the shaded side, pale crusts	A soft pass; backed off at lichen
Vinyl fence	Pollen, mildew, a dingy film	Low pressure, cleaner-driven
Lattice	Dust, cobweb, mildew in the gaps	A gentle rinse from the yard side

For the patio under the deck or the walks beside it, the patio below the deck is a separate approach. The siding behind the fence, if that is on the list, goes with the back of the house.

Where deck cleaning fits

When a wash is the right step

A deck that has gone silver, with no plans to stain yet
A deck headed for a stain or a seal, which starts with clean wood
A fence that is green on the shaded side or crusted at the top of the posts
A back yard that needs to look right before people come over

When another trade suits better

Loose boards, popped nails or soft spots: a carpenter
Staining, sealing or painting the boards after the wash: another trade
The whole exterior of the house: everything we wash

Once we are at the deck with you, we can tell which column the yard sits in. A sun-bleached deck with sound wood is a wash; a deck with soft, spongy boards is a carpenter's call first. We walk it with you so there are no surprises when the water goes on. Call (225) 635-8356 and we take that walk.

What the visit covers

A deck wash covers the boards, the rails, the balusters, the steps, the lattice and the fence sides we can reach from your yard. We go over which lights and outlets get covered, how the beds along the deck get handled and what gray we think the wash will lift. For the method side, how the method changes by surface walks the comparison.

When you call about the deck

You tell us the deck, the fence, how old the wood is, whether anything is in the plan for stain or paint, and what the yard around it looks like.
We come look with you, point out the soft spots and the lichen, and run a sample on a board if a deck deserves one.
You get a price and decide. Nothing is sprayed before that.
The wash happens, and we walk the yard with you one more time.

Call (225) 635-8356

Humid Baton Rouge and the pale crust on fence posts

Baton Rouge sees about 114 days with measurable rain in an average year, and morning humidity averages 89 percent across the year, with August mornings around 93 percent. That is a lot of damp air on wood boards sitting out in the open.

The pale, scaly crust that shows up on the top rail of a fence or on the heads of the posts is often lichen. Lichens are a fungus paired with algae or cyanobacteria, and they do not harm what they grow on. Several hundred lichen species have been identified in Louisiana, and they turn up on fence posts, rocks and metal railings alike, since they make their own food.

The wash loosens the softer part of the crust and leaves the fence unchanged underneath.

Deck cleaning in Baton Rouge: your questions

Will pressure washing ruin my wood deck?

The wash runs along the grain, with the pressure matched to the softness of the board. On older sun-bleached wood the pass is lighter still. If a board is already soft at the end, we tell you so at the walk and leave that spot alone.

Should the deck be washed before it is stained or sealed?

Yes, if a stain or a seal is in the plan. Stain grips clean wood, and the wash is what gets it there. We tell you what the deck looks like at the end and leave the finish to the people doing it.

Do you clean composite and vinyl?

Yes. Composite boards and vinyl fences get a low-pressure wash with a cleaner that does the lifting, since more pressure can leave marks the way it does on painted wood. The method is closer to a lighter wash than a pressure job on concrete.

How dry does the wood need to be?

We cannot say in hours. It depends on the air, the sun and the kind of wood. If a stain or a seal is next, the finish maker's instructions set the window; we would rather you follow them than guess from our visit.

Can you get the gray out of an old fence?

Some of it. A sun-bleached, long-weathered fence that has not seen a stain in years will not go back to new. The wash pulls off the top gray and the green film; the deeper gray in the grain usually stays. We tell you what the fence will look like at the end before any work starts.

What is the pale crust on my fence posts?

The pale crust is lichen, a fungus paired with algae that grows on fence posts, rocks and metal railings since lichens make their own food. The wash goes gentle around the crust; some comes off, and what stays does not damage the wood underneath.

Do you stain or seal?

No. A wash is where we stop. For a stain, a seal or a paint, the people who do that work take it from the dry deck.

Call (225) 635-8356 and tell us the deck, the fence and whether a stain or a repair is in the plan. If leaving a number is easier, the short form on the page sends it to us. What drives the cost of a deck wash walks through the pricing factors.

A woman slides a seat cushion onto a wood armchair on a newly washed back deck, with a round teak table set with a basil plant and a string of overhead lights.

Want the house and the driveway clean again?

Describe the walls, the roof and the concrete to someone who washes houses for a living.

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