Hi Faron. When I said "pretty aggressive power washing" what I probably should have said is "too aggressive power washing". IÂm using a 15° nozzle at 6-8 inches. But thatÂs what it takes to get it semi-clean. The wood is already damaged from years of neglect. Lots of checking, raised grain and some splits. IÂm just trying to buy some time. This deck needs to be replaced. IÂve built two decks with Timbertech and love the stuff. But the deck IÂm working on does not have adequate structure to support the additional weight of the Timbertech. And replacing this deck wonÂt make it to the top of my to-do list for several years. In the mean time IÂm trying to make it look presentable. Unless anybody has better suggestions IÂll try doubling the strength of the percarb and letting it sit for 30 minutes instead of 10. Maybe that will let me stop being so aggressive with the power washer.

Jennifer and Tresw, Thanks a lot for your advice. In fact, we swam today in the pool, yeaaaahhhH! Well, not really swimming, because the water was cold, about 60F and because I let the garden hose running in fresh water for an hour to lift up the level, but as a side effect it got even colder... But the clarity is now great. It is amazing comparing to a week ago, when was a swamp... What a miracle. I got the 4 way test kit, as suggested by TRESW and the readings were not that bad. Chlorine was really really low 0.4-0.6, but Ph was just right 7.6 and TA was 80 ppm (could have been 70 ppm, but with the background coloring I could not really say). The leaks are really big issue though. I broke the cement around the skimmer and now I can see the top plastic of the feeding tunnel (about 3-4 inches deep down), and it has about 0.5 inches water. What is even more worrisome is that the water is about 2" above the pool level, which means that the walls are all filled up with water all the way to the concrete deck and it is overflowing from any crack the water can get through. Also, the lines around the concrete deck are wet, as I dug about an inch deep around and now water started amassing around. And this is on the other side of the pool... I am having a serious leakage, that is for sure. I will rent these days a power hammer from Home depot and I intend to break to pieces the deck. The problem is I have not decided what to do with the debris yet. Any suggestions? As for the dead animal, I am no longer worried. I cleaned, and shocked, and cleaned, and shocked and now I believe there is nothing left from it... I hope. I certainly will avoid any contact of the water with my mouth for the next month or so, but overall I think I am over this now :) Thanks for all support and advice. If something else comes out, please shoot. I am ready to make some pics and post them online for discussion. Best, Lubo

As a professional pressure washer I can tell you that this method should work well for a typical weathered deck. You may need to pull out some bigger guns for your deck because of your assessment that it is "severely weathered". You can buy some DIY kits that include contractor-grade products that will help clean and prepare your work for the next step (staining/sealing). If you didn't want to go to a DIY kit, then I would probably mix soap and bleach...but not just bleach from the grocery store because that is probably 4-6% bleach. You want the mac daddy of bleach that is 12%. You can usually get this at a pool chemical store. Take a gallon of that 12% bleach and mix in 2 cups of soap (you can use Dawn or something similar) and then fill the rest of a 5 gallon bucket with water. Then spray this solution on to the deck and let it dwell from 5-20 minutes and then brush and rinse. BUT BEFORE YOU DO YOUR WHOLE DECK....TEST PATCH TEST PATCH!!!! You may want to do a few test patches because some areas may only need a 5 minute dwell time and other others may need 20 minutes depending on the weathering, mold, mildew, dirt, etc. Your deck will look clean but it will still look weathered unless you "brighten" the wood. There is a product called "Illuminate" (contractor-grade) that can be sprayed on the clean wood and it will literally brighten the wood. But then you need to start making plans to seal that wood or you will be in the same place you are right now. There are some DIY Wood Cleaning kits on Ebay that have contractor-grade cleaners. Good luck!

Hello firsthome, All the information you need and products formulated to do your job and give you professional results are located there. I got my first report today from a gentelman in New York that was estatic with the results of using the Restore-A-Deck cleaning system and Baker's Gray Away sealer. Application is simple and as I mentioned you would be very happy with your results. One note: The R-A0-D cleaner is a blend of seven detergents, builders and surfactants. Straight sodium percarbonate is not the most effective cleaner by itself and oxalic acid by itself is a bit harsh for wood. It chokes me if I am around it. Also straight oxalicx acid has none of the neccessary builders to carry it deeper into the wood alowing maximum pH balance. As with anything, the right tools for the job. If you have any specific questions I have a message board on my website and you may also contact customerservice@restore-a-deck.com Here is a link that might be useful: R-A-D Cleaners and Sealers