Spring garden maintenance: Removing mold and mildew from decking
Whether you have a small, paved pathway or a large composite deck, mold and mildew are inevitable. Especially if you live somewhere with particularly rain conditions with plenty of foliage around.
Thankfully, if you head outside in the Spring to get prepped for your first garden party of the year, it’s actually quite easy to get rid of mold on your deck. However, it’s recommended that you deal with moss as soon as possible, as it could lead to bigger problems down like rot or decay later down the line.
Mold and mildew: Causes
As the leaves fall and gather in the garden, this can become a breeding ground for mold, moss, and algae. In addition, anything left outside has the chance to absorb water that collects nearby and take in any moisture from debris and foliage that falls onto it.
Wood decking is particularly susceptible to mold and mildew. These organisms are technically a type of fungi where natural spores can grow as long as the conditions are right.
If the garden deck has been wet for more than a day, or the air is moist and humid, mold and mildew will find it incredibly easy to grow.
However, it’s not just wood decking that can become a victim of these spores. Composite decking that uses uncapped boards can also experience a mold outbreak, which is why it’s recommended that you speak to deck contractors St Louis about capped composite boards instead.
How mold and mildew grow on decking
Wood is a great food source for fungi – especially when combined with warm air or wet conditions. Unfortunately, mold doesn’t just grow on the deck; but it will start to eat away at the material. This is particularly prevalent for wood decks, where mold can cause rot and structural issues.
How to remove mold and mildew from your deck
It’s always a good idea to speak to the deck company you used for installation or whoever you bought the deck boards from. They’ll have a much better idea as to how to treat and care for your specific deck.
As a general guide, you should never use strong cleaning solutions on your deck, damaging the boards. Most of the time, mold can be removed with warm soapy water and a brush. Alternatively, you could use a store-bought composite deck cleaner.
- First, remove any furniture and plants from the deck.
- Use a bristle brush to remove debris and dirt.
- Add a small amount of dish soap to a bucket of warm water to create a soft cleaning solution.
- Coat the deck with a light spread of the soap water, then use a hard bristle brush (a clean one!) to gently scrub any difficult areas that are moldy or slippery.
- Scrub the entire deck to get rid of mold, dirt, and grime
- You can leave the cleaning water on the deck to soak in, which will help remove stubborn staining and mold spots.
- Once the solution has been given time to soak, you can remove the excess with a brush or leave it to drain away.
- Leave the deck to dry thoroughly before replacing plants and furniture.
Following this simple cleaning method, your deck should stay clean and stain-free throughout the years.
