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Can You Clean Composite Decking With Bleach?

When choosing a cleaning solution for your decking, you should ensure to check if it is suitable for your decking in order to avoid damage. As bleach is a common household cleaner, customers often think they can use it on their decking. Can you clean composite decking with bleach? No, we advise against using bleach on your decking as it will damage the decking surface.

Why Do Decking Owners Use Bleach For Decking? 

Moisture on your decking can lead to mould growth without the correct cleaning and maintenance.  Some homeowners make the mistake of using bleach on their decking to get rid of the mould or grease. However, bleach does not kill mould on porous surfaces such as wood and composite decking. So, not only will it be counterproductive in the attempt at killing mould, it can also damage the decking surface. 

Chlorine bleach is the most common bleach sold in shops used to remove stains within your home. It is also known as Sodium Hypochlorite (household bleach). If there is a stain on your composite decking, you may be tempted to use bleach but more often than not, a stain on composite decking can be cleaned with just dishwasher soap and a soft bristle brush.

Is It Safe to Clean Composite Decking With Bleach

If you apply bleach to remove stains on composite decking, the bleach can remove the stains quickly in minutes. Bleach can give you a quick fix when removing stains, but it comes with a price. If you apply chlorine bleach to composite decking, the bleach will damage your decking. How?

Chlorine bleach removes stains by making the area white or colourless. If you apply bleach on composite decking, the bleach will damage the colour of your decking changing the colour and in most cases causing a white spot as you will see in the above image. It will fade the composite decking colour, thereby damaging its looks. Apart from fading the deck’s colour, bleach can also cause serious damage to the entire decking.

If you apply bleach to your composite decking, the bleach will react with the decking. Not only will this change the colour of your decking, but due to composite being partly made from wood this could cause structural damage just like its wooden cousin does if exposed to bleach.

In addition, bleach is also corrosive to metals. When applied regularly on a deck, bleach can damage the fasteners that hold the decking in place. When this happens, you run the high risk 0f your decking collapsing. This could lead to the entire breakdown of your decking.

Can You Clean Composite Decking With Bleach?

Considering the effect bleach can have on composite decking, the response to the above question is No. It is not recommended to clean composite decking with bleach. Chlorine bleach contains sodium hypochlorite, which can ruin your entire decking.

Apart from damaging your decking, bleach is also a toxic chemical. If you accidentally come in contact with bleach, it can irritate your skin. Exposure to chlorine bleach can also cause headaches, respiratory problems, vomiting, etc.

Applying bleach to remove any stains on the composite decking can cause irreparable damage to the decking. Bleach can cause your composite decking to experience structural damage and lost of colour completely. The cost to replace an entire decking can be very expensive, therefore, you should avoid using bleach to clean your composite decking.

If you want to clean dirt off your composite decking, you can use soapy water. For oil or grease stains, use hot water and soap. You can also apply baking soda and vinegar to remove minor mould and oil stains.

Conclusion

You should not clean composite decking with bleach. Regular use of bleach to clean composite decking can damage the entire decking. It can cause your composite board to experience structural damage. In addition, bleach can also corrode the decking fasteners, thereby collapsing the deck.

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