Deck Cleaning

Garibaldi

Hi all,

I've got a large deck area for a dog run, made of tanalised beams (roughly the same size as railway sleepers). Being a dog run, this area gets quite messy from time to time. So, my question is, can anyone recommend a method for cleaning this area (other than just pressure-hosing it), and a mild detergent that won't kill the plants growing around the outside of the run?
I should point out that there's a green buildup, on some of the beams. I don't know what it is (I can guess that it's some kind of moss or lichen, but I could easily be wrong) and it's very hard to shift. Any ideas?

Thanks,

G

Hoagy

The green buildup is algae, which usually appears in shady areas.
Thanks to our neighbours 30ft leylandii, we have the same buildup on our deck.
The deck cleaning fluids that you get in Woodies or Atlantic etc will kill the algae, but you still need to scrub it off.
We got a Hoover rotary floor scrubber which works, but very slowly.
I have reverted to the pressure washer, you can get a rotary brush attachment specially for decks and patios.
The pressure washer on its own is inclined to lift the tanalising off the planks.

Lex Luthor

elbow grease is the only way...get an off the shelf deck cleaner and a stiff wire brush and brush it in and hose it off

Garibaldi

Ah well, elbow grease, I was afraid of that.

Thanks, guys.