How to Remove Stains from a Wood Deck

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DeckWise CleanerSo, you were the lucky one…the one who got to host a 4th of July BBQ blowout extravaganza. There was beer, wine, kids, hot dogs, overcooked hamburgers (Wait, that was just me!)…lots of laughs, stories shared….and one more thing…

Spills…stains…the works! We’re talking ketchup, chocolate, mustard, oil, all of OH MY!

We sell a great Hardwood Deck Cleaner that works really well on nearly anything you throw onto your deck.

Here is a simple step-by-step instructions on how to clean and remove deck stains:

  1. Sweep dirt and excess debris off the deck and in between gaps.
  2. Wet the deck surface down with clean water from a hose.
  3. Dissolve the jar of Deck Cleaner in a bucket of warm water at the recommended strength.
    1. NOTE: Testing a small area is recommended.
    2. One 16.oz container covers up to 600 square feet.
  4. Wait a few minutes for solution to activate.
  5. Apply with a mop or sprayer.
  6. Let the product sit on the deck surface for at least 10 minutes, making sure to keep the deck wet with more product if it begins to dry out.
  7. Scrub the deck boards (Scrub WITH the grain of the wood for maximum results).
  8. Rinse thoroughly with clean water and let dry.

We’d love to see what your deck looked like before and after you cleaned it. If you send us pictures, we might even send you some FREE goodies! To send before and after pics of your deck, visit the Advantage Lumber photo upload page.

You Can Find Related Articles Here:

  1. Ipe Decking Maintenance – How to Remove Ice & Snow from a Wood Deck
  2. The 7 Deadly Sins of Deck Building: #6 Sloth
  3. How to Refresh Your Hardwood Deck this Spring
  4. Why Does Wood Turn Grey? The Natural, Weathered Look of Wood
  5. Deck Cleaning Tips – Extend the Life of Your Decking Material

6 thoughts on “How to Remove Stains from a Wood Deck”

  1. We have an Ipe deck that been aged for about two years in Milwaukee, WI. We love the rustic color, but over this time there are grill grease spots, other spills, and my wife even spilled some teak oil.

    What do you recommend to remove or treat the oil and grease spots especially the teak oil spots on our ipe wood deck.

    Thanks

  2. Ron,

    Grease stains can usually be taken out using a pressure washer at 1000-1500 psi with a 40 degree tip (normally the white tip). As for the teak oil this is a penetrating oil and the only way to get this out would be to sand the surface of the material down to the raw wood. After the sanding of the material you will want to pressure wash this as well. Personally what I would do is sand the entire surface of the decking then pressure wash. This will ensure you have no stains at all and nice, fresh wood. If you were looking to bring the natural color back, simply apply an oil finish such as Ipe Oil after the material has had a chance to dry for about 24-48 hours after the pressure washing.

    I hope this helps please let me know if there is anything else that I can do for you, Thank you for your time.

  3. We have an Ipe deck that has almost two years of age. It’s never been treated. We’ve recently discovered horrible stains from Raccoons who’ve been harvesting our avocados and eating them on our deck. Should we try to steam clean? What about tsp?
    One end of the deck looks like the garbage area of a greasy restaurant. If we had elected to oil the deck before this happened, would this have minimized the current problem?

    Help.

  4. We are considering whether to have our deck constructed of Ipe or Redwood. How would we remove a red wine stain, should one occur on an Ipe Deck? Thank you for a response ASAP as have to make decision soon.

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