Kayu President's
Opinion on Deck Maintenance
President’s opinion on deck maintenance
My primary concern for writing this blog, is that anyone might think that the maintenance of Kayu® decking is anywhere near excessive, because cleaning should never be a reason to use another deck material over Kayu®. All deck surfaces need sweeping and cleaning.
The Proven Way
A proven way to utilize Kayu® decking is to finish our hardwood with one coat of oil and let it “silver out” and enjoy the silver patina look of the natural weather barrier Mother Nature provides and has been proven for centuries.
For most of us though, who truly love and appreciate the natural beauty only Kayu® hardwood decking can provide, we clean our decks and re oil every year or three.
I enjoy seeing both looks, so clean my deck after about two years and apply another coat of oil, sometimes going darker or lighter color to suite my preference at that time. Kind of like changing the color of my car each year!
Don't Over Complicate the Cleaning Process
Most of all though, don’t over complicate the cleaning process. See our web site (Kayu.com) for simple cleaning instructions. Me, I just use my medium sized pressure washer and pressure wash my deck. Best to give it a light coat, to get it wet and clean off most dirt. Then, brush in cleaner (like sweeping) for 10-15 minutes depending on deck size and rinse off. Honestly, I use my pressure washer to do most all the work as I like to minimize effort and cleaners. Just don’t exceed 1000 PSI and hold the spray tip about a foot away from the deck. Use a gentle sweeping motion. The first time, find a place out of main sight lines to practice. Having the spray tip further away is better as too close will actually tear the wood fibers and can disfigure your deck. Easy to do, just take your time. NOT a hard job at all.
Let your deck dry over night or two days in a humid environment and re apply a coat of deck oil using a paint roller or my preferred method a paint sponge on a long handle.
Apply lightly, not too thick; less is more. Wipe off excess and enjoy another year or three. I bet you will be surprised how easy this process is, but even better will be your personal pride at bringing your Kayu® deck back close to ” good as new” over the many years of use.
