# What do you recommend for cedar



## BPC (Jan 1, 2015)

I usually use standard house wash for prep on cedar and hardi plank. I am trying to downstream more and wondering what people recommend for these to substrates that would work better. I recently bought elemonator just eondering what goes well to increase cleaning strength. Thanks to all


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## BPC (Jan 1, 2015)

Wow not a single answer.


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## BPC (Jan 1, 2015)

Maybe i should of said what does everyone charge then there would of been a flood of response.lol


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

Sodium Hypochlorite, (bleach), but not store-strength bleach, something higher than 10% which hasn't been sitting forever in a warehouse or on a shelf. Elemonator is awesome. Not only is it compatible with bleach, it also boosts the cleaning power of bleach. 

In a 5 gal bucket, I mix 3 gal bleach, 2 gal water, and 4oz Elemonator. That works well for my usual house wash. If I'm washing a deck, the products used will vary, depending upon whether or not the deck is to be re-coated, if it's to be re-coated in a semi-trans, solid, etc ,whether it's to be stripped, and what particular product is currently on the deck. Sodium percarbonate is a great deck cleaner. 

Go to www.pressuretek.com and read up on their chems. The F-10 is their sodium percarbonate. Their F-18 is stripper, then it's typical followed up with their F-8, (oxalic), to neutralize. 

Pressuretek is nearly a one-stop shop for all things pressure-wash, although I don't care for their F-18, so when I have to strip a deck, I shop elsewhere for that.


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## BPC (Jan 1, 2015)

I tried it today after getting my order of elemonator. It worked well only had store bleach but still did a nice job. Now i am on the hunt to find a great enclosed trailer setup to upgrade my current rig.


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## Damon T (Nov 22, 2008)

I ordered a bunch of the deck chems from PressureTek when I ordered Elemonator but now I mainly use the bleach and Elemonator too. Again I'm referring mainly to houses but I've had great results with cedar railings and old Trex decks this way too.


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## BPC (Jan 1, 2015)

Seems like bleach is the cure all for most things.


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## Hines Painting (Jun 22, 2013)

I use pool chlorine. Its a little stronger and readily available. To get fresh bleach I would have to drive 1.5 hours each way, so that's a deal breaker.


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## ColorConnoisseur (Sep 10, 2014)

Woodrich EFC-38. It's environmentally friendly and will do a fantastic job. Just order a bit more of the powder solution than you calculate needing. Only problem with this product is that the shelf life is only 6-8 months. I was skeptical of this solution at first, but it worked fantastically. Bleach is not a good idea. It does damage the wood fibers and discolors tannin permanently.


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## thomasj (Jul 30, 2015)

Hines Painting said:


> I use pool chlorine. Its a little stronger and readily available. To get fresh bleach I would have to drive 1.5 hours each way, so that's a deal breaker.


Yea, pool chlorine should do the job just fine.


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