Clean Cedar Siding Before Staining

Now the cleaned and brightened cedar wood siding is ready to stain.

Clean cedar siding before staining.

Though it may be more time consuming always clean your cedar siding by hand. If cedar is aged having grey weathered and or ugly black mildew all over the best cedar cleaner by far is oxi clean laundry detergent saving time and money and is also a must before staining. Only difference between cleaning new and old wood is new wood does not require much cleaning as old discolored wood sometimes does. Do not attempt to power wash your cedar siding.

Cedar shingles can also grow moss and algae or develop iron staining which requires periodic cleaning. Dealing with surface contaminants once the surface is in good condition re inspect for dirt mildew stains cedar bleed chalkiness and other foreign substances. Before staining replace rotting or decayed wood and remove loose stain and eroded wood fibers by sanding scraping or power washing the problem surfaces. Cedar siding after mold removal cleaning and brightening.

Use a thick brush when staining. One of the most thorough methods when staining is to use a thick natural bristle brush. While you can use household bleach to kill mold and algae it tends to make the cedar shingle s surface fuzzy because of the excessive pulping reaction when using it. Department of agriculture s forest services laboratory recommends cleaning cedar shingles with an oxidizing bleach as opposed to a household bleach to avoid damaging the wood.

After you have washed it wait for it to dry before applying any stain to the cedar. In the past he had used oil based wood stain products but found the mold and mildew returning within a few years each time. Staining the restored cedar siding.