Perhaps you are planning to build a deck on your property. You’ve been talking with custom deck builders, getting estimates, and weighing your options as to the materials you plan to use. As you make that decision, consider the potential for mold growth on that deck and how you may be able to minimize the problem.
Don’t kid yourself either, mold can become a real scourge if you give it enough of a chance. Which is why it’s so important to not only understand how mold can develop on your deck but how to go about preventing it from occurring.
What Leads to Mold Growth?
Mold is like any living thing that begins to thrive and spread. It’s a substance that requires air and moisture, it also needs a source of food, and the right temperature. For mold, those temperatures are typically anything between 40 degrees and 98 degrees. As for that food source, anything organic such as pollen, leaves, and various debris that can get spread out across your deck will suffice.
If you are reading between the lines here, there’s one very clear message – you must always keep your deck as clean as possible. That way you can greatly reduce the components that promote the growth of mold and keep it from getting into the pores of your decking materials.
Decking Pores
Almost all decking materials are porous and these pores help to promote the growth of mold by allowing the spores to nestle inside of them and remain. From there, the heat and moisture and food sources help the spores to bloom and ultimately spread. That’s why it’s so important to clean the decking and clear the spores out of the pores so the mold isn’t permitted to flourish.
Prevention Through Cleaning
So, the best way to keep mold from growing is by cleaning your deck thoroughly. It must be done at least twice a year but that may not be sufficient for your deck in your region of the world. If the climate near you has elevated levels of moisture or comes with temperatures that are in the sweet spot of that range where mold is more likely to thrive, then you will need to perform more routine upkeep.
Your cleaning process may vary as well, but you just want to make sure you’re doing it enough so that your decking pores don’t become clogged with mold spores.
One thing to keep in mind, however, when you are cleaning your deck, never ever power wash it if there is evidence of mold. It’s one thing to use the pressure washer when there is no mold present, but if you attempt to do it with mold on the surface, you could end up making the problem far worse without even realizing.
The strong force of your power washer will only shove the mold spores deeper into the porous surface of the decking material and that can create a very unhealthy situation for you and your family.