In the last week I have had five calls for Trex deck cleaning. One customer wanted to stain and water proof. The others just wanted to clean them.

One I did yesterday was badly black marked by mildew stains. I used the Olimpic Cleaner like the Texdeck.com site recommended. And after I used Oxalic Acid to kick it up a little more. The spots still showed but no longer black. I was okay with the job now I'll wait for the customer if she sends a check I guess it's okay.

I have a feeling this is going to be more and more a new job market. Most of the customers thought they did not need to do anything as the one I did above for two years she just let it go. The other customers were very upset that the black marks and green slime were making the decks look bad as well.

I don't think I will touch the one that wants to stain her deck. Has anyone stained a Trex deck yet? I see that the Trex site says oil based or water based deck stain will work but solid colors.

To me cleaning the Trex deck is a bit longer than a wood deck. And the results just don't give you that warm feeling of before and after like real wood does. It's like cleaning Concrete looks clean but no big WOW! what a differance.

Why do I like doing Deck Refinishing? I like taking somthing that looks like crap and making it look like new. Why? Good question! I hate painting! Deck Refinishers don't paint!

i use a surface cleaner on trex. No grain to worry about.
penofin.com has a product called KNOT-WOOD
It's for sealing TREX.
The real wood in trex is what get's black and moldy.
I wash it untill it's brown[fresh wood]
Then brightin. Never used the knot-wood.

The more you learn the more you earn! Thanks to everyone for their help.
My motto '' Do it right or dont do it.''

I have washed three trex deck myself this season. Did a low pressure wash than applied oxalic acid. Nothing else seems to work. The black marks from the wood will return. As far as staining a Trex deck. My one and only occasion was a few years ago using Cabot's Teflon based solid stain. Which was recommended by the Cabot's people. I explained to the customer that wanted it done that it may or may not hold up. PUT IN WRITING!!!! Customer called me back two years later saying it was peeling. I told them they would have to most likely strip. I passed the job and told them to call Cabots.

Rick-Deck Care Plus

Well the Customer liked the cleaning and said she wants me to do it once a year. The other decks are going to be done in late September and one in October.

The lady that wanted her's stained went with someone eles thats going to be putting ( Ready for this ) Soilid Color Deck Stain by Bere the water based one. The deck has a southern face and gets fried in the hot sun.I did not say much but the guy doing it is going to get an ear full from her in a year to Six months when its starts peeling.

Thanks for the info on the black RON I'll make sure to tell the customers that so they understand why that happens.


Now if we could only educate the contractors that build these decks to use the trex for railing work instead of wood. One I did a while ago had wood benches built into it and all the railings were 3 inches over the Trex. The prep work took more time than sealing.

Why do I like doing Deck Refinishing? I like taking somthing that looks like crap and making it look like new. Why? Good question! I hate painting! Deck Refinishers don't paint!

Did a Trex this year. Used hypochlorite based deck cleaner and turned out great. Some boards were spaced too close together. They keep their dogs in the enclosed sunroom and there is a screen under the Trex boards so mosquitos cannot get in. I had to pull dog hair out by hand by it paid well.

that's the first time ive herd of anyone ''de-furring'' trex.
congrat's on being the first. lol

The more you learn the more you earn! Thanks to everyone for their help.
My motto '' Do it right or dont do it.''

If you were building a deck for yourself, what material would you use - regular wood or Trex? What are advantages and disadvantages of both in your opinion, guys?
Just wanted to hear what people think about it. Thanks.
Val