Spray & Walk Away or Spray & Hose

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tchart

2362 posts

Uber Geek

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#214026 24-Apr-2017 14:52

I'm nuking some green patches on our newish deck. I got some generic moss/mould/gunge cleaner from the number 1 red shed.

Anyway instructions say to spray and then hose off after 60 seconds. Last time I got the spray and walk away type.

Are there any downsides to leaving the stuff on for a while or until it rains?

I can't see any reason why you would spray it, leave for 60 seconds and then hose off. Especially since it was probably on the deck for 15 minutes by the time I had sprayed the entire deck.

highspeedsteel

34 posts

Geek

#1769806 24-Apr-2017 14:57

I'm not and expert but I think its something like this.

The hose off after 60sec are generally a bleach based system (hypochlorite or similar) and would probably have corrosive effects on metal fittings if left longer the chlorine disappears fairly quickly.

The spray and walk away/wet and forget type products have a different active ingredient, its slower acting but probably less corrosive.

Tradepub

Free professional, reference and technical white papers (affiliate link).

tchart

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#1769820 24-Apr-2017 15:11

Ah looks like you are right.

Quote;

Critics of bleach-based cleaners say they badly damage wood fibres and give timber a washed-out (or bleached) look. It’s also corrosive to metal nails and screws. - See more at: http://www.greenideas.co.nz/how-to/at-home/four-ways-to-clean-your-deck#sthash.6OFUZOwj.dpuf

scuwp

3869 posts

Uber Geek

#1769837 24-Apr-2017 15:31

Get proper deck cleaner or use the spray and walk away stuff.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

CJC

54 posts

Master Geek

#1771240 27-Apr-2017 13:41

tchart:
Quote;

Critics of bleach-based cleaners say they badly damage wood fibres and give timber a washed-out (or bleached) look. It’s also corrosive to metal nails and screws. - See more at: http://www.greenideas.co.nz/how-to/at-home/four-ways-to-clean-your-deck

I recently used option 4 from this link to clean our fairly large deck that hadn't been cleaned for some time, if ever. Purchased a tub of sodium percarbonate (active ingredient in 'Hit the Deck' and those 'oxy' laundry treatments) from Trademe for cheap. Over the course of a few evenings I sprayed section by section, waited 30 minutes or so, scrubbed with a stiff broom and hosed off. Possibly more effort than others, but it worked very well!