The lovely homes with wooden decking and pergolas in and around Canberra often have to deal with mold formation due to damp and cold weather conditions. As a proud owner of wooden decking and pergolas, it can be quite frustrating when nature attacks and eats away your investment into luxurious decking.
Mold
Mold is algae – a living organism that looks green in color due to photosynthesis. Algae can not only ruin the expensive composite wood decking in your Canberra home, it can also be potentially dangerous because a deck that is covered with mold will be very slippery.
Removing mold from your outdoor wooden decking or pergolas
Although mold is a pretty common occurrence on most wooden decks in Canberra homes, there is no permanent solution to it – at least not yet.
Step 1 – Cleaning the wooden Canberra deck
To remove mold formation from your wooden decking, you need to first clear your deck of all furniture including flower pots and other decorative fixtures.
Step 2 – Scrubbing the mold off your wooden deck and pergola
Use a hard broom to sweep your wooden decking clear of any dirty and mud particles. Then you need to get down on your hands and knees and use a stiff brush over the entire.
Step 3 – Chemical application
If you are satisfied that your decking and pergola is clear of mold buy an algae removing chemical from your local composite decking supplier. You need to do this because despite the scrubbing, microscopic colonies of algae will still exist and unless you clear them out with a strong anti-algae product, it will once again take hold over your entire wooden decking.
Step 4 – Buying the right chemical or product
Anti-algae products are available in two options – regular (factory made chemical), and environmentally friendly (usually produced from natural sources). Whichever product you select, read the instruction carefully as most anti-algae products come in concentrated form and need to be diluted before application.
If you are in doubt, seek the advice of your local decking contractor of which, there are many available in Canberra. Most would be happy to come over and look at your decking before advising you on a choice of anti-algae product.
Step 5 – Application
Brush or lightly spray the chemical so it covers the entire wooden decking. You will usually need to leave the decking alone for a couple of days so as to allow sufficient time for the chemical or anti-algae product to do its job. Follow instructions mentioned on the product package.
Some owners of Canberra homes remove mold the old fashioned way – using bleach in a water solution. While this is a low-tech, low expense approach, it has the potential of causing some damage to your expensive wooden decking.
Preventing reoccurrence of mold on your outdoor timber Canberra timber deck construction
While there is no foolproof way of preventing reoccurrence of mold on your expensive wooden decking, you might want to install a few hard coir mats at the entrance to your decking. Family members or guests should wipe their shoes on the mats – this is especially important in the monsoon. Wet dirt carried by shoes will quickly bring back algae and mold formation on your decks.
Visit for more info: Hardwood timber decking
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