Things You'll Need:
- Plastic drop cloths
- Safety glasses
- Rubber gloves
- Rubber boots
- Pump-up sprayer
- Long handled scrub brush
- Power washer or power nozzle for garden hose
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Step 1
Remove everything off of the deck. Use your garden hose to wet the grass and surrounding plants. Place plastic drop cloths around the perimeter of the deck to protect the grass. Use more drop cloths to cover any nearby plants.
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Step 2
Put on your protective gear. Strippers are very strong and can cause severe skin irritation and eye damage. Fill the pump-up sprayer with the stain remover and cleaner. Saturate the entire deck with the stain stripper. Allow the stripper to sit for 15 minutes.
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Step 3
Use your long handled scrub brush to scrub the deck when the stain begins to lift from the stripper. After scrubbing the deck, use a power washer to rinse off the stain. Turn the tip of the wand on the power washer so that the water comes out in a wide spray instead of a straight line. If you do not adjust the power washer you will create deep gouges in the wood.
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Step 4
Hold the tip of the power washer at least 12 inches from the deck. Walk the lengths of the planks while you are washing. Spray at least 2 deck boards at a time. When you move to the next set, overlap the previous board with the power washer. This will help to get the edges of each plank.
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Step 5
Rinse the plastic drop cloths and remove them. Spray down the grass and the surrounding plants. This will neutralize the chemicals in the stripper and keep it from killing the grass and plants. Allow the deck to dry and do a water test on several areas.
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Step 6
Sprinkle some water on the deck. If the water soaks in, the deck is free from stain and sealers. You will have to reapply some stripper if the water beads up. Allow the deck to dry overnight before staining.
