Tips for Power Washing a Wood Fence
Is your wood fence looking dirty and grimy? Power washing the fence can be a good way to clean it up. However, power washing a wood fence is quite different from power washing siding or a concrete pad. Here are some tips that will come in handy as you go about power washing your wooden fence.
Accept that you'll have to repaint it afterward.
Power washing will clean your wooden fence, but if it is a painted wooden fence, power washing will also remove a lot of the paint. This does not mean you should not power wash your fence. It just means you need to pair the power washing with a good painting session. Look at it this way: if you power wash, you won't have to also scrape the loose paint off! Make sure you let the fence dry out for two or three days after power washing before painting.
Use a less-powerful tip.
Wood is a pretty soft surface. As such, you don't want to use a really powerful tip to clean the fence. Look for the medium-powered tip in your set. Also, as you power wash, try not to get too terribly close to the fence itself. Back up a little more than you would if you were power washing concrete or vinyl. Your fence will still end up clean, and you'll do less damage.
Start at the top, and work your way down.
Overall, you want to start at the top of the fence and work your way down. This way, the dirt from the top of the fence will be rinsed away as you work your way down. However, when washing a wood fence, you will often kick up some dirt when cleaning around the base of the fence. So, after you've washed the whole thing, you'll want to give it one more gentle, top-down rinse to get rid of any dirt that was splashed up.
Be careful what cleaners you use.
You can usually power wash a fence with water, only. If you do want to use a cleaner, make sure it is one labeled specifically for use on wood. A cleaner for other surfaces may leave a residue that future paint won't stick to.
If you follow the tips above, you should have good luck power washing your wood fence. Most people only need to do this every few years before they repaint.
For help cleaning your fence, contact a power washing service in your area today.
