My answer on both cleaning and sealing is that it does matter what type of wood it is. Below is a post I posted today under someone's older post of "I've had it with deck stain!" I also have "had it" with deck stain. Information in this area of expertise is confusing and often erroneous. Most subjects, I can research and obtain clear answers. There seem to be no clear answers or consensus regarding deck staining. It's very frustrating! I bought a home with a large older deck stained gray (appeared to have many old coats). I first got some deck cleaner and some Thompson's Water Seal Waterproofer Plus Clear Wood Protector, because many of my friends and family had used it without complaint. I was just going to reseal the old gray deck as it was started to show signs that it was no longer protected. The directions said to wash the deck first. I washed the deck and some of the stain came off in places in the deck was all blotchy. I researched and therefore decided to strip the deck and start over. I stripped the old gray stain/finish off until it was a pine color - took 8 gallons of stripper and countless hours. I think it is pressure treated pine lumber. I then researched and decided to sand the wood as many kept suggesting it. I had no idea what type of sealer or stain to put on. I researched, and there were no clear answers. I did more research and finally decided on Australian Timber Oil (highly suggested by many) in Natural (samples showed a pine color). (Although choosing a good stain or sealer is very confusing.) I wanted a natural wood look so I could simply gently wash the deck once or twice a year and reseal. I didn't really care if I had to apply sealer often or not. I just never wanted to have to strip colored stain again. I very lightly applied the natural stain and then wiped back over with a cloth. Once applied to the soft lumber, the stain was not Natural in color but was brown - dark brown. I absolutely did not overapply. In fact it dried within a few hours. After further research, I have learned much. First of all, Australian Timber Oil is for hard woods only even though the directions state it can be applied to softer woods. The soft woods absorb the stain too quickly. Sanding made the wood absorb the stain even more quickly. Thus, the "Natural" stain went on dark brown. In addition, older soft woods outdoors are notoriously difficult to stain without getting blotchy. I found a great site explaining how to prevent this by sealing the wood prior to staining. Here is the article: http://www.rd.com/50400/article50400.html If someone ever has small areas where they overapplied the stain or stain stays tacky and doesn't dry, I found a great tip (although this was not my problem): Simply wipe those areas gently with mineral spirits. Now, I'm just going to wait for it wear off some and when it's time to seal or condition again, I'll maybe apply some clear oil based product. Not sure yet. I'm just going to live with the blotchy appearance unless there are suggestions that don't involve stripping again. Also, only gently wash decks with colored stain or some of the stain may come off and give a blotchy appearance. In my case, sanding didn't seem to do anything to help at all except waste a lot of time and effort. I kind of wish I had not even cleaned the deck that first time and had just applied the thompson's water seal and been done with it. As time goes on, I may have more tips I learned the "hard" way. I just don't understand why this subject seems so difficult to research and why there is no one place that could have explained some of this and consolidated all the tips. Also I wish there were more explanations, such as: Why exactly do so many people slam Thompson's water seal? They say it has wax but then don't explain why wax is bad. They say it doesn't last long, but maybe someone out here doesn't care how long it lasts or how often they have to put it on. No one explained that Australian Timber Oil would apply MUCH darker to soft woods. They just said it worked great on soft woods. etc.

Hi Kathy, Our Redwood deck is 12 years old. Like Cedar, Redwood is fairly soft, and WILL get damaged by claws...no way around it. These woods are very DIMENSIONALLY stable, but on the soft side! The ONLY way to insure even stain appearance/absorption is to sand it. * I sanded our Redwood deck 3 years ago. It gets NO shade...still looks real good. * This is in Fargo, ND too! Temps from -30 to 100. Very dry air...to jungle-like humidity. * I used the Sikkens Redwood #089, SRD stain. * I rented a 12" x 18" VIBRATING-PLATE sander. Buy a backer-pad or 2, some 80-grit sanding-sheets, and sand the direction your boards lay. * Keep going back & forth (pretend you're mowing the lawn!) until your wood looks nice and even, & all old color is gone. * Vacuum all dust off, & wipe with paint-thinner to remove everything. * Now, you've basically got a NEW DECK!! * The beauty of sanding is that all old/degraded cellulose is now gone. Strong, open wood-fibers make up the surface now. * This "new" surface will now ABSORB & HOLD STAIN EVENLY. >>> Sure, you can keep cleaning an old deck...BUT, all you'll be staining is OLD, DEGRADED wood-fibers that won't hold stain evenly...or very long! >>> Usually you can sand & stain the SAME DAY. No waiting for cleaners to dry. >>> Sikkens reccommends sanding every few years. Also, even Cabot (when pressed) states that sanding is preferred. Faron

Michael, I've been hoping someone would reply to your post, as I plan on using Penofin for the first time in the near future. From what I've read about Penofin, I'm drawn to the basic clean and restain every year, as opposed to stripping and all that. Can you comment on anything else regarding Penofin? Is once a year sufficient to keep it looking decent? How long does it take for the fumes to dissipate? I've read they are brutal! My plan is one coat when the deck is finished (next month I'm thinking), one coat in the fall, one next spring, and then yearly from there. Hopefully that will keep my Ipe looking nice. Any thoughts/advice is appreciated! Kim

While mildewcides in stains can inhibit the growth of mildew they won't prevent mildew from forming on the pollen and other dirt that lands on the surface of your deck and becomes food for mildew spores. It sounds like your deck is shaded as well. You are right that you need to clean your deck more frequently. Letting your Ipe deck go grey is likely to be the easier path. At this point you can use a percarbonate cleaner, spray it on with a garden sprayer, let dwell 20 minutes, and scrub with a deck brush on a pole. If you know what you are doing you can powerwash instead of scrubbing, but only if you can use very low pressure and a wide fan. The cleaning will remove most of the grey which may be good or bad depending on what you want. After that rinse the deck when it is dirty, e.g. after pollen season etc. and re-clean yearly. Marty