How to Maintain Your Trex Board Deck

Trex is a name brand composite decking material made from recycled plastics and wood. Trex deck boards offer a surface resistant to rot, insects, cracking, splitting and warping. Maintaining a Trex deck includes cleaning and caring for the walking surface, rails and supports. Typically, wood supports a Trex deck because Trex is a non-load-bearing building material, meaning it lacks the strength to hold a deck. Maintaining the Trex and wood supports extends the life of the deck.

Things You'll Need

• Broom
• Dustpan
• Bucket
• Liquid dish soap
• Hose
• Scrub brush
• Composite deck cleaner
• Paint scraper
• Wood chisel
• Hammer
• Epoxy-based wood filler
• Putty knife
• 120-grit sandpaper
• Belt sander, palm sander or sanding block
• Tack rag
• Exterior-grade paint or waterproofing sealer
• Paintbrush, paint roller or paint sprayer

Instructions

Trex Boards and Railing

1. Sweep the deck with a broom to remove surface dirt and debris. Collect the dirt in a dustpan and throw it in the trash.

2. Fill a bucket with water and add a squirt of liquid dish soap.

3. Spray the deck and railings with water from a garden hose.

4. Submerge a soft-bristled nylon scrub brush in the dish soap and water. Use a grease-fighting dish soap if oil stained the deck. Scrub the dirty areas on the railing and deck boards. Rinse the soap residue off the railings and deck boards with a garden hose.

5. Apply a specialized composite deck cleaner to food stains, moss, mildew and leaf stains according to the deck cleaner manufacturer's directions. Typical deck cleaner instructions direct you to spray the cleaner, scrub with a soft-bristled brush and rinse the surface.

Structural Supports

1. Examine the wood supports for signs of rot, insect damage and peeling or flaking paint.

2. Scrape flaking or peeling paint with a paint scraper. Carve out rotted or insect-damaged areas with a wood chisel and hammer. Press an epoxy-based wood filler into the recesses with a putty knife. Let the filler dry for one to two hours.

3. Sand the wood surface with 120-grit sandpaper installed in a belt sander, palm sander or sanding block to smooth the surface.

4. Wipe the structural supports with a tack rag or damp rag to remove the sanding dust.

5. Paint two coats of exterior-grade paint to the wood supports with a paintbrush or paint roller to protect them from the elements. Allow each coat to dry for two to four hours between coatings. Alternatively, apply a waterproofing sealer with a paint sprayer, paintbrush or paint roller to all wood surfaces.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean your Trex deck seasonally to maintain a strong and sound structure.

• Trex will lighten, fade and weather over time; this is normal and does not require remediation.

• Replace severely rotted or insect-damaged wood supports.

References

• "Home Repair and Improvement"; Creative Homeowner Editors; 2006
• "New Fix-It-Yourself Manual: How to Repair, Clean, and Maintain Anything and Everything In and Around Your Home"; Reader's Digest Editors; 1996