Best way to clean wood porch?

[Schfifty Five]

My front porch is ready for a good cleaning. It has painted wood pillars and rails and brick floor.

The paint is fine, just needs to get a good wipe down of dirt/grime over the past year or so.

What do you guys recommend? Is there a product I can buy at home depot or something that will work? Or should I just make a solution like water and dish detergent?

Thanks!

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Simple green and a pressure washer.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Wait..what? won't that strip the paint?

OP, depending how big it is, soap and water is fine. If you can get ahold of a low pressure sprayer that could be useful too. Depending on how thick and paint type high pressure may be fine as well...but I don't think I would use too strong of a chemical on it.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Wait..what? won't that strip the paint?

OP, depending how big it is, soap and water is fine. If you can get ahold of a low pressure sprayer that could be useful too. Depending on how thick and paint type high pressure may be fine as well...but I don't think I would use too strong of a chemical on it.

Yeah I'm not looking to do a pressure wash as I don't want to strip the paint off.

I just wanted to do a nice scrub/wipe down of the wood beams/railings and wasn't sure if it was easier/safer using a commercial product or concocting one myself.

Thanks!

 

[rstrohkirch]

Simple green is still a good suggestion

 

[Schfifty Five]

Simple green is still a good suggestion

Ok, Thanks! I'll give that a try.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Pressure washer wont strip the paint using a tip with a wide spray pattern and not putting it close to the surface.

 

[NetWareHead]

If you use the pressure washer, make sure you have some extra paint to touch up the porch after it has dried. Its very easy to get just a bit too close with the spray and strip paint. There will be a learning curve to find the right distance and you are going to create some bare spots even if you dont intend to. And even so, if you pass over an area of weak paint or it has just begun to flake, it will fly right off. The power washer is one of the quickest ways to clean and better than hand scrubbing. The water jet can conform to curved surfaces and you can quickly clean items like spindles and detail work that would require time/labor intensive methods like toothbrushes etc...

Or try hand scrubbing and see what kind of work is needed first before renting one.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

There is a two step Sherman Williams paint remover and wood brightener that worked very well for me. Just use the brightener if you don't want to remove the paint. I do recommend getting a cheap sprayer with it but those are small money.
I can't remember the name but I'm sure its the only stuff they sell with their name on it.

 

[mindless1]

Yes, warm water, the least amount of dish detergent that will get the job done, and a soft cloth, and very soft toothbrush (or narrow paint brush) for crevices.

Depends on what the grime is though, I live near an expressway and an airport so the exhaust that deposits on everything comes off a bit easier if there's some Lestoil in the water.

 

[Mark Smith]

Hi,
To clean a wood porch: - water and detergent are the best options for you.
You can also mix some drops of floor cleaner in a water for good results.
Thanks!!