Power washing a wood deck

David Stifle

David Stifle

Joined
Nov 20, 2008
Messages
10,188
Hi Guys,

I have a choice of renting a a 1,000 psi or 2,000 psi washer. All I need to do is get the deck clean, not take off old paint, and get rid of some algae in some places. The 1,000 psi washer is cheaper to rent and I think it will do the job. I'm wondering if the 2,000 psi washer would be so strong it could actually cause some damage. Any advice?
 
I think either would work really. I have a 1600psi electric power washer (just a cheap one from Lowe's) and it's way more than enough to get the job done on our decks. The 2000psi might save you a little time, but the smaller one would probably do just fine.
 
The higher psi washers will actually chip out wood if your deck is oldish. I know I can dig holes in fire bricks with my 1800 psi gasoline pressure washer and it is just a baby in the world of pressure washers. I would go with the 1000 psi pressure washer myself.

You can kill the algae with bleach and then it will come off easier also.
 
The key to successful pressure washing has little to do with pressure. The key is in the prep stage, which for simple deck upkeep, means a good spraydown with a basic pump sprayer loaded with bleach. Get the whole deck sprayed on a day that will be sunny, in the AM and do the actual pressure washing in the afternoon. The 1000 PSI will be fine for your use, and yes, 2kPSI is enough to blow apart some of a wooden deck. Saturate the algae infested areas with two coats of the bleach.

Good Luck with your project.
 
Many people want to substitute pressure for some hand cleaning. This happens on siding a lot. But unless you simply can't reach it with brushes and must use a pressure washer, your better off cleaning first and then pressure washing to get the stuff that might be down inside cracks and so forth. You can clean a deck pretty well with the short bushes that you can buy at places like Ace hardware (cheap too <$10.00) designed for spreading asphalt sealant on driveways and so forth (ie non-commercial). Then pressure wash it.
 
Thanks for all the insight, guys. Glad I asked the question. I never thought of spraying with bleach first, great idea. And yes, I'll surely go with the 1,000 psi washer. Again, thanks a lot.
 
Don't use a 0 or 15 degree nozzle or you'll drill holes in the deck, even with a 1,000 psi model. Don't ask me how I know this:D
 
Most newer power washers have a place where you can mix in a bleaching ingredient, I used it when i ran a paint company for a college internship a couple years ago and it worked very well. I realize this thread is old but I thought I'd drop a line just in case I could be of any help :)
 
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