How to Clean a Trex Deck

Trex is a popular brand of durable wood-plastic composite material lumber made of recycled plastic and wood wastes used for decking and landscaping. Trex deck does not require specific stains or sealants for protection, but should be cleaned on a periodic basis. Here’s how to clean a Trex deck.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Get rid of dirt and debris with soap, hot water and a stiff bristle brush. Immediately after installation of a Trex deck, clean the accumulated dirt and debris in this manner.

2. Remove the mill markings that are imprinted on the side of Trex decking boards by lightly rubbing alcohol or acetone on it.

3. Use conventional deck washes or cleaning agents containing bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and detergent.

4. Take out oil and grease stains as soon as they occur by using household de-greasing agent and later rinsing it with hot water.

5. Remove chalk markings by scrubbing the area with hot soapy water and bleach. Colored chalk markings are permanent and cannot be cleaned, so consider using white chalk or baby powder to mark on the deck.

6. Melt ice on a Trex deck with calcium chloride or rock salt, available in most home maintenance stores such as Home Depot. Rinse off when the ice starts melting.

7. Scrub ink stains with hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly.

8. Remove rust stains, ground-in dirt and grime using a cleaning product containing oxalic or phosphoric acid base. That will lighten the stain and possibly remove it.

9. Use common rust cleaner to get rid of pigmentation staining that occurs as a part of the weathering process of your Trex deck.

10. Lighten wine and berry stains by mixing bleach into hot water according to the instructions on the bleach package. Scrub the stain gently and rinse it with hot water.

Tips & Warnings

• Ideally, you should keep the deck clean on a routine basis using soap and hot water to avoid dirt buildup.
• Call 1-800-BUY-TREX to deal with more severe stains.
• A pressure washer is not recommended to clean a Trex deck. Using a pressure washer with PSI greater than 1,500 and/or applied closer than 10 inches from the deck surface could damage it. You may also lose your warranty coverage.
• Sanding alters the appearance of the deck surface and hence should be avoided.

[happycat73]

on 3/15/2009 I have initially tried using "conventional deck washes containing bleach (sodium hypochlorite)and detergent" for cleaning my 5 year old Trex deck of mold stains from the Home Depot and other hardware stores. They did not work, caused black rust stains around my stainless steel screws and gave me a terrible headache due to breathing the fumes. I eventually became very upset and called Trex. They recommend a product called Corte Clean. I gave this product a try and was quite surprised at how well it works. It thoroughly cleaned my deck of the mold stains while not having a terrible chemical smell. It even removed the rust stains caused by the bleach and the grease and oil where my barbecue sits. Its eco-friendly too! I wish I hadn�t wasted so many weekends and so much money using products that don�t work. Hopefully my posting this will save others from the same hassle and expense I went t

[CorteClean]

on 10/12/2008 Corte Clean Composite Deck Cleaner has been tested and is recommended for cleaning Trex of mold stains. In addition, it cleans grease, oil, rust, BBQ, and most other common stains. Best of all, it is an eco-friendly product. For further information, please visit www.corteclean.com

[deBare]

on 8/18/2008 er, I guess that should be BEHR 990 concrete cleaner.

[deBare]

on 8/18/2008 er, I guess that should be BEHR 990 concrete cleaner.

[deBare]

on 8/18/2008 I had some tough grease stains after moving my BBQ back onto the deck. Nothing worked. So I called the 1-800-BUY-TREX hotline - they suggested BEAR 990 from Home Depot, which is a non-petroleum concrete cleaner. I will let you know if that works ... or not. We'll see.