Home DIY

If it’s never been treated then happy days.

You might be able to bring it up nicely with some deck specific cleaner and a scrubbing brush. Then finish it how you want or just leave it raw if you don’t mind it greying.

Pressure washing will clean it back well but it’s a very messy job and you can bugger the wood surface up if you get to close so it won’t take a treatment and will need sanding anyway. A patio attachment is mandatory if you don’t know what you are doing.

Our deck had what was either a paint or a stain on it which failed locally. Over time I’ve been removing it all with various horrible chemical and mechanical methods. It’s a big deck too.

That should scrub up well with deck cleaner. Pressure washer can make things quicker, but can fuck things up as said. Hose, scrubbing brush and cleaning fluid would do that. After, I used Ronseal Deck Protect on my last place. I liked it.

I did ours a few years ago when we moved in. They were much worse. I used a bucket of lye solution and a stiff brush plus poured sand on the deck before scrubbing away, about 1-2 sqm at a time and then washed it off with a garden hose. Learned this technique when sailing old wooden boats years ago. Turned out great. I’ll see if I can find pics.

Found some