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Let's talk about pressure washers.
These tools are extremely popular among homeowners. They come in all different sizes, and the end of the
spray wand can be equipped with a variety of tips that concentrate the high-pressure stream of water in
different ways. That stream of water is what cleans, by agitating the surface of whatever it strikes.
A pressure washer can clean a wood deck much faster than you can scrub it by hand. That is a terrific advantage. However, a pressure washer will frequently destroy the surface of the wood. The stream of water can be powerful enough to erode the light-colored spring wood fibers. Those that are not eroded can be dislodged, leaving the wood fuzzy or rough after it dries.
Professional deck cleaners argue with me that this only happens when an inexperienced user is working with the tool, the pressure was too great, the wrong tip was used, and/or the tip was held too closely to the wood surface.
If you decide to use a pressure washer, you had better test it or have the professional prove to you that he/she can use the tool without damaging the wood. If you're really interested in making your deck-cleaning project a green activity, you should seriously consider the secondary effects that gasoline- or electric-powered machines have on our environment.
I am a big proponent of non-toxic cleaners. The older I get, the more I suspect that certain chemicals in everyday products are responsible for many health issues. I am not a doctor, but common sense tells me that harsh chemicals are not processed well by our bodies.
Years ago I discovered that there are different types of bleaches -- one of them being oxygen bleach. Many people think bleach is bleach, but the bleach found in most homes is chlorine bleach. The active ingredient in chlorine bleach is sodium hypochlorite. Check the label of many bleaches or deck cleaners, and you might see this chemical name.
Oxygen bleach is a powerful cleaner that is just about as green as you can be. It is commonly available as a powder. The chemical makeup of the purest oxygen bleach is simply hydrogen peroxide and soda ash. When you mix this type of oxygen bleach with water to make a deck-cleaning solution, all you create is more water, oxygen and soda ash.
The oxygen bubbles in the solution do most of the work done by the pressure washer. The solution soaks into the dry wood, and the oxygen ions deep clean the wood by breaking apart dirt, algae and mildew molecules. The solution is not toxic to you or the plants, bushes or trees around your deck. You can't say that about chlorine bleach.
The con of using a green cleaner is time and elbow grease. You will have to do some additional mechanical agitation using a scrub brush on a pole to get your deck squeaky clean. However, you will be pleased to discover the wood will not be fuzzy, and there will be hardly any erosion of the soft spring wood.
My advice to you is to use oxygen bleach to clean the deck and have your husband help you with the scrub brush. If he must use his pressure washer, have him insert the 35-degree tip and just use the machine to do the final rinse. But if I were your helper, I would simply use a garden hose with a regular nozzle.
There are many different oxygen-bleach products on the market. You can see them on TV infomercials, in warehouse stores, in grocery stores and online. As you might expect, there is a big difference in quality. The less expensive oxygen-bleach products often contain less of the active ingredient, and they might use an active ingredient that contains impurities or inorganic chemicals.
The purest oxygen bleach is made from raw materials that are food-grade organic chemicals. You can't get any greener or purer than that.
Years ago, when I first learned about oxygen bleach, I studied it in great detail. I never liked the harsh characteristics of chlorine bleach. The more my wife and I studied and tested the oxygen bleach, the more we liked it -- so much so that we use it to clean anything water-washable around our home. Furthermore, I felt so confident it its appeal, I started my own little company to sell the highest-quality oxygen bleach. Full disclosure and transparency is required in today's world, so you need to know that I am both a believer and a seller of this amazing product.
HOME DECORATING, INTERIOR DESIGN, HOME RENOVATION & HOME IMPROVEMENT
From Common to Customized – Add Value With Architectural Details
Architectural Details Increase your Home's 'Wow' Value & Selling Value
Architectural elements are the unique details that form the architectural style of houses and buildings.
Customizing your kitchen, baths, master bedroom or any other room with architectural details is a simple way
set your home apart and increase the "wow factor" of those particular rooms and in turn the selling value of your
home.
Interior Design for the Sports Lover
Interior Home Decorating Trend
With the trend of sports decor becoming a mainstream choice throughout homes, decorating options are endless. Sports themes can range from fun and over-the-top to subtle and tasteful integrations depending on what the homeowner likes. Here are some ideas about where to start.
Planning A Screened-In Porch: What to Consider
Home Renovation Tip & Advice from Ask the Builder by Tim Carter
DEAR TIM: The next project at my home is a screened porch. I have looked at many plans, but none of them really excite me. After looking at some pictures, I have some really good ideas about what I want in my design. What should I take into consideration in this planning phase so that I end up with the perfect screened-in porch?
Two Main Forces Working Against Your Retaining Wall: Gravity and Frost
Home Renovation Tip & Advice from Ask the Builder by Tim Carter
DEAR TIM: Can you tell me how to build a retaining wall? Are retaining wall blocks a good choice? What critical things do I need to know so that I don't have a collapse or other failure in the years to come? I have access to lots of large stones. Can I just stack them to make a retaining wall from stone?
When Installing a Patio, Build It to Last
Home Renovation Tip & Advice from Ask the Builder by Tim Carter
DEAR TIM: I have decided to use patio pavers to build a nice outdoor space. Installing patio pavers seems easy enough. I don't want to make a mistake, so can you tell me how to install patio pavers? What method would you use? What should I be concerned about if I want a patio that looks good and is as maintenance free as possible?
Power-Wash the Deck or Do a Green Clean? The Pros and Cons
Home Care Tip & Advice from Ask the Builder by Tim Carter
DEAR TIM: I am having a spirited debate with my husband about how to clean a deck. The job doesn't seem that hard, but my husband wants to use a pressure washer, as he thinks it will save time. I want to use a green cleaner that is non-toxic and environmentally safe. What is the proper way to clean a deck and keep it looking nice? --Lisa T., Burlington, N.C.
Island Innovations: Make the Most of Your Kitchen Space
Home Innovation Tip & Kitchen Islands
"The kitchen island has become the icon of the modern kitchen – the 21st century equivalent of the old-fashioned hearth," says architect Duo Dickinson for This Old House Magazine. "It’s easy to understand why - kitchen islands work."
Green Building Options from the Ground Up
Going Green Environment Friendly Home Renovation Tips
More and more homes are being built and remodeled with the environment in mind. This green building movement is gaining momentum and options for homeowners continue to increase, making creating a green home easier than ever. Here are some tips to make your home greener, from the ground up.
Put the 'Eco' in Decorating
Eco-Friendly Home Decorating Tips & Trends
Just because you’re going green doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. There are many ways to easily incorporate eco-friendly ideas into your home decor without living the stereotypical "granola-and-Birkenstocks" lifestyle.
Add Warmth and Value with Easy Weekend Projects
Easy Home Decorating Tips that can be accomplished over a weekend
You’ve got a weekend to work with and the inspiration to do something to dress up your home. You don’t need to spend like a diva or wield a hammer like a home improvement show host to achieve a high-impact do-it-yourself project. Many value-enhancing, elegance-adding improvements can be accomplished in a weekend with minimal effort and expense.
A Good Excuse to Upgrade Your Home Entertainment System
Home Theater & Home Entertainment Systems
Television has come a long way since its introduction to the world in 1925, when Scottish inventor John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first recognizable image -- the head of a ventriloquist’s dummy.
Hot Home Decorating Tips - Freshen Up Your Home and Brighten Your Mood
Home Decorating Tips & Advice
Could your home be putting you in a bad mood? If so, you’re not alone. A recent study shows that having a clean home in the winter makes 92 percent of adults feel happier. You don’t have to undertake a major cleaning overhaul; just a little polishing here and there can boost your mood as much as a sunny day.
Hot Home Decorating Tips - Walls Get In Step With Fashion
Home Decorating Tips & Advice
Fashion and home decor trends are so closely aligned now that we can add a favorite new look or color scheme to
both our wardrobes and our homes at the same time. One day you’re shopping for handbags in the hottest color
and the next day you find yourself reaching for pillows in a matching shade.
Hot Home Decorating Tips - Copy an Inspiration Room on a Budget
Home Decorating Tips & Advice
With a few easy tips, you can achieve a similar Inspiration Room look without the hefty price tag. The trick,
experts say, is to draw "inspiration" from these examples and emulate the look and style with more affordable
furnishings and decorations.
Hot Home Decorating, Color Trends and Tips - Interior Design and Decorating
Home Decorating Tips & Advice
Are you ready to get a jump start on discovering 2008’s hottest decorating and paint color trends?
Winter is an ideal time to start planning your interior decorating spruce ups. And one of the easiest, least
expensive ways to give a room a new look and feel is with paint.
Top 10 Home Decor Trends for 2008 - Interior Design and Architecture
Home Decorating Tips & Trends
Much like we can expect from the American people in next year’s election, the votes among the nation’s top interior designers and manufacturers are split when it comes to forecasting what will be "hot" in home decor in 2008.
Kitchen Color Trends and Tips - Interior Design and Decorating
Kitchen Decorating Tips & Advice
Every homeowner knows that the kitchen is the perfect place to please the palate. But it can also be the perfect place to add character with the color palette. When remodeling the hub of your home, choosing the right colors is an important part of the decision making process. But how do you choose colors that are compatible with your space and your taste?
The Art of Accent Colors: How to Use Color to Brighten a Room
Home Decorating Tips & Advice
Certain colors innately evoke different memories, thoughts or moods, according to a study conducted by Miami
University. If your home is laced with walls that are too white or overbearingly dark, details in your décor
can change everything. By recognizing this, it is easy to brighten up or give any room a little extra personality
with accent colors.
Architectural Digest's The New AD 100 Top Interior Designers and Architects
Top 100 List from AD (Architectural Digest)
Ask the Builder by Tim Carter
Expert home builder and renovation and remodeling contractor Tim Carter has 20 years of hands-on experience
in the home industry. His column ASK THE BUILDER is a how-to-get-it-done-right Q&A guide for all types of building projects. It offers important information on questions to ask and things to avoid while working with contractors of all varieties.
About Tim Carter
Tim Carter began his career as a renovation and remodeling contractor after college, first working on small jobs and gradually taking on bigger projects. Soon after he graduated from college, he and his wife bought their first house -- a "fixer-upper" -- and he renovated it and turned a profit. The construction bug had bitten him. He began rehabbing more houses and doing contract work for other homeowners, and eventually he began to build custom homes.
Carter is a licensed master plumber, master carpenter, master roof cutter and real estate broker. He is host
of the weekly two-hour live radio show "Ask the Builder" on WMOH in Cincinnati. Homeowners from around the nation
call Carter to get straight answers about difficult home building and remodeling dilemmas. Carter also serves as
TV expert for "House and Home" weekly news segments on WLWT-TV, Cincinnati (NBC affiliate). Carter is the
Editor-at-Large of the new magazine Extreme How-To. He is also the co-author of The Home Ranger Helps You Figure
it Out! a resource and instruction book for accomplishing common household repairs.
In his weekly column, Carter offers professional advice and walks readers through each project step by step,
offering instructions on how to hire the right professionals to do the work, what to expect from contractors,
questions to ask and tips on reading blueprints and job cost breakdowns.
Tim Carter holds a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Cincinnati. He was born and raised in Cincinnati and still lives there with his wife, Kathy. They have three children, Meghan, Tristan and Kelly.
(c) 2008 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES
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