Should you power wash a deck?
Yes, at low pressure with a wide fan tip.The USDA Wood Handbook accepts power washing, “particularly if low pressure is used.” 501 Soft Washing cleans wood decks for homes and businesses, and the work is guaranteed.
Deck & Fence Cleaning in Fairfield Bay, AR
501 Soft Washing, in Fairfield Bay, Arkansas, cleans decks and fences for homes and businesses, and we fixed a deck another company damaged.
Call (501) 550-8465
Free remote estimates
Insured. The work is guaranteed.
5.0 on Google
Why decks turn gray, green, and black, and how high pressure hurts the wood
Decks and fences around Greers Ferry Lake stay damp. Heber Springs gets about 53 inches of rain a year, and forest covers 55 to 76 percent of the nearby counties. Algae grows on damp, shaded boards, and pine pollen and leaf litter feed mildew.
Sunlight causes the gray. UV breaks down lignin, the natural binder in wood fibers, so the surface fades and takes on water more easily. Black spots on a deck are usually mold or mildew from trapped moisture.
High pressure can leave a deck worse off than the weather did. Restore-A-Deck, a deck-care maker, warns that pressure washing can raise the grain into fuzz. Wash Mastery’s contractor guide says green, yellow, and red tips can gouge or groove wood. One owner on Reddit’s r/Decks had several boards rot through 3 years after the grain was damaged.
applied way too much pressure that caused the wood to have a furry look... They refused to fix it.
What people ask before washing a deck or fence
Should you pressure wash a fence?
Yes, if the pressure suits the fence.Trex says more than 1,500 psi, or a tip closer than 12 inches, could damage a Trex fence and void the warranty. Tell 501 Soft Washing what your fence is made of when you call.
How long should a deck dry after cleaning before you stain it?
Usually 2 to 3 dry days.Wash Mastery says 48 to 72 hours, and 72 or more for cedar. Deck-care sites say 3 to 5 days in humid or cool weather, and rain resets the clock. 501 Soft Washing also does deck and fence staining and sealing.
What happens if you stain a pressure-treated deck too soon?
The stain won’t soak in.New treated wood has to dry first. Sprinkle water on the boards: if it beads, they’re not ready, and if it soaks in within a minute or two, they are. Ask 501 Soft Washing about staining when you call.
Can you pressure wash a Trex deck?
Yes on Transcend, Enhance, and Select.Trex says no more than 3,100 psi and a fan tip no closer than 8 inches. It doesn’t recommend pressure washers on Accents, Origins, Contours, Profiles, or Brasilia. Tell 501 Soft Washing which line you have.
Have a different question?
Call (501) 550-8465 and ask.
Deck and fence cleaning, material by material
501 Soft Washing is a full-service exterior cleaning company, so decks, stairs, and fences of any material go on one call. Once the wood’s clean, that call also covers deck and fence staining and sealing.
Pressure-treated pine decks
Too much pressure lifts pine into fuzz, and the fix is drying the boards and sanding them.
Call about your deck
Cedar and redwood decks
Wash Mastery gives these woods a lower pressure limit than pine. Both weather to silver, and galvanized or rusty nails can leave black marks in them.
Call about cedar or redwood
Composite decks and ramps
Trex says mold on composite grows on a film of pollen and debris. Its advice for owners is a hose, warm soapy water, and a soft brush every spring and fall.
Call about composite
Deck stairs, steps, and railings
Algae makes damp, shaded boards extremely slippery. That’s a fall risk on stairs, and we clean them with the deck.
Call about your stairsWood fences
Fence boards gray and fuzz the way deck boards do. Wash Mastery’s wood guide says to work with the grain and keep the nozzle 6 to 12 inches away.
Call about your wood fenceVinyl and composite fences
Fence installers warn against spraying into vinyl joints and the gap under the bottom rail. On a Trex fence, trimming the plants that shade it helps hold mold back.
Call about your fenceHow deck and fence cleaning goes
1. Call (501) 550-8465
Tell us what you need done and where it is.
2. Get your free estimate
Remote estimates are free everywhere. In-person estimates are free in the Fairfield Bay, Clinton, and Shirley area.
3. The owner shows up and does the job
501 Soft Washing’s owner comes to your home or business and does the work.
What customers say about their decks and stairs
“My deck was damaged by another so called reputable company in the area. They fixed it. What an expensive lesson. At least my deck looks almost new now!”
“Christian did a great job. Place looks so much better. Years of build up on stairs gone. 5 stars job!”
What’s guaranteed and what an estimate costs
501 Soft Washing is insured. The work is guaranteed.
Some things get talked through before the work starts, so you know what to expect. Oxidized siding needs a restoration process, and that isn’t guaranteed. Removing non-organic stains isn’t guaranteed either, though the success rate is high.
Free remote estimates
Everywhere we work. We need pictures of the job: email them to info@501softwashing.com with the address, what you want cleaned, and a note on any vegetation or surfaces a cleaner could damage. It gets you a faster, more accurate quote.
Free in-person estimates
In the Fairfield Bay, Clinton, and Shirley area.
Farther out
We prefer remote, or you can pay $100 for an in-person estimate, deducted from your quote if you accept the job.
“We needed our office in Heber Springs washed before a meeting on Monday. They were able to quote remotely and come out on a moments notice. Thank you so much for the accommodation. We really should have done this in advance but thank you!”
What else the same call covers
Where 501 Soft Washing works
- ClintonFree remote and in-person estimates
- Fairfield BayFree remote and in-person estimates
- Greers FerryFree remote estimates
- Heber SpringsFree remote estimates
- Mountain ViewFree remote estimates
- ShirleyFree remote and in-person estimates
The work also covers Van Buren, Stone, Searcy, Cleburne, and Faulkner counties.
More deck and fence cleaning questions
How much does deck or fence cleaning cost?
It’s quoted per job.501 Soft Washing doesn’t publish deck or fence prices. You get a price for your job after a free estimate, remote everywhere and in person in the Fairfield Bay, Clinton, and Shirley area.
What if my deck boards are soft or rotten?
We repair decks too.A reply on a HomeOwnersHub deck forum says to press a screwdriver into the board, and if it sinks in, the board may need replacing. 501 Soft Washing does deck repairs.
Do you clean decks and fences at businesses?
Yes, homes and businesses both.501 Soft Washing takes residential and commercial jobs across Van Buren, Stone, Searcy, Cleburne, and Faulkner counties, and the owner shows up and does the job.
Call (501) 550-8465
Free remote estimates everywhere, and free in-person estimates in the Fairfield Bay, Clinton, and Shirley area.
Call 501 Soft Washing