Clean Cedar Siding Before Staining

Do not attempt to power wash your cedar siding.

Clean cedar siding before staining.

Power washing can damage the wood and bleach can damage a power washer. Get rid of that grunge by cleaning your cedar siding with an oxygen bleach and choosing a protectant that doesn t feed future mold growth. While you can use household bleach to kill mold and algae it tends to make the cedar shingle s surface fuzzy because of the excessive pulping reaction when using it. In the past he had used oil based wood stain products but found the mold and mildew returning within a few years each time.

Cedar siding after mold removal cleaning and brightening. Now the cleaned and brightened cedar wood siding is ready to stain. Dealing with surface contaminants once the surface is in good condition re inspect for dirt mildew stains cedar bleed chalkiness and other foreign substances. Use a thick brush when staining.

Before staining replace rotting or decayed wood and remove loose stain and eroded wood fibers by sanding scraping or power washing the problem surfaces. Cedar shingles can also grow moss and algae or develop iron staining which requires periodic cleaning. Though it may be more time consuming always clean your cedar siding by hand. If cedar is aged having grey weathered and or ugly black mildew all over the best cedar cleaner by far is oxi clean laundry detergent saving time and money and is also a must before staining.

One of the most thorough methods when staining is to use a thick natural bristle brush. Department of agriculture s forest services laboratory recommends cleaning cedar shingles with an oxidizing bleach as opposed to a household bleach to avoid damaging the wood. After you have washed it wait for it to dry before applying any stain to the cedar.