# Black Locust Decks



## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

ok so this is more of a deck quesiton than a power washing question but I figured since Ken prowls here he might have an answer 
so I have a customer who has a new-ish (probably 4 years old) black locust deck with Sikkens DEK Semi on it. The HO has recoated several times in the past. The boards have cupped slightly and some of the exposed ones are pretty dark and weathered by now. I suggested cleaning with oxygenated bleach, sanding, rinsing, staining. Because they are not familiar with this chemical they are all concerned that it is not the right thing and it won't be safe for the environment. I was under the impression that oxygenated bleach is pretty safe and biodegradable and would be a good solution for this. They also think that because they have a black locust porch that It will somehow be completely different than normal wood. Any insight?


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Prowler here.

Most of the black locus is old growth and is very durable. I have never worked on a black locust deck but have been on floors constructed with it. Its a great wood.

Sodium percarbonate is about as environmentally and landscape friendly a chemical as you can get. (it is the primary ingredient in OxyClean™) It is an EPA registered fungicide so it and bleach are the only cost effective chems that will kill mold. Sodium percarb when mixed with water is a precursor to sodium peroxide. It will not kill plants on contact, is not overly caustic, does not bleach out wood and will not negatively affect soil pH. It is definitely, in my opinion, the best thing to use for deck cleaning. As a downside, it works more slowly than bleach. What I like about it is that it will not overly oxidize the wood and cause it to turn white and dry out.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

tsunami,

If the customer wants to do more research on their own I have an article link in my signature that gets more indepth:
Deck Cleaning


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

well that didn't take long, Thanks Ken. Does Sodium percarb only come in powder form?


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