DeckResurrect.com and our sister website HouseWashingDelmarva.com can disinfect your home’s exterior with its typical house-wash mix. How? Our typical house-washing solution includes bleach (sodium hypochlorite) and a powerful but environmentally safe detergent that is just right for the siding cleaning work. Bleach is the established industry standard’s main active ingredient for killing algae and mold on building exteriors. Therefore, bleach is good, it is a great disinfectant, and can kill viruses. When used professionally, it helps to brighten your home as well as getting rid of germs, algae, and mold. We can apply our house mix through power washing, soft washing or a small sprayer. 

Are you renting out your waterfront home? We can definitely kill all those exterior party germs from raucous renters. In addition to great hygiene, disinfection through our bleach detergent mix is an excellent way to keep the COVID-19 Coronavirus at bay. Handrails and railings for decks, deck tables, doorknobs, etc. are all areas being touched by everyone but can be disinfected. We know exactly how much cleaning mix to use on a house so as to not kill plants. Be careful with newer contractors in the business because they have a tendency to go to heavy with the cleaning mix which can kill flowers and plants!

pestilence and viruses are a problem and may become the “new normal” for which we are being challenged

Worried about the kid’s swingsets from having germy kids playing on them? We can disinfect them too, as well as anything else that people are touching, such as outdoor furniture.

If we personally don’t think hygiene is a problem, then observe the folks going in and out of typical convenience store bathrooms in our area. Many men (can’t speak for the women) do not wash their hands! So pestilence and viruses are a problem and may become the “new normal” for which we are being challenged.

We can all do our part in keeping the Coronavirus and other surface-contact viruses at a distance by disinfecting not only the interior but the exterior of our properties as well.

Attention Property Managers! We already support several property management companies at the Maryland and Delaware beaches and elsewhere. But let us know if you have pool areas or eating areas that need sanitizing. Own a restaurant with external tables and seating? Call us and we can sanitize your exterior space.

So if you live on Delmarva’s Eastern Shore or own a property there, give Deckresurrect.com a call at (410) 499-9209! We have 30+ years in the exterior cleaning and disinfecting business. 

• How do you know if your house is dirty?

• Can it be cleaned if it has some weird color on its surface?

These are the colors that will typically be seen here in Delmarva’s Mid Atlantic states of Maryland, Delaware and Virginia on the Peninsula. We are closer to water and moisture so typically most all homes will be marred by one or multiple stains below. What dirt color is affecting your home?

Sage to Lime Green: Lichen. Typically found on the roof’s northern often shaded side. Lichen must be removed as it grows roots that can shorten the life of your roof.

Green, Hunter Green: Algae. This is seen mostly on untreated decks and home’s northerly shady sides.

Black (on roof): Mold. Characteristic of black soot like streaks on roofs. Since roofs are made presently with some limestone instead of just asphalt like decades past. The organic limestone feeds algae causing the mold streaks particularly on the north side. Therefore, pretty much all roofs will get at least black streaks of mold in time.

The dirtier the house, the easier it is to clean

Dark Grey or Black: Mildew/Mold. This can be seen throughout a home’s exterior that has not been cleaned in some time.

Black Dots: Artillery fungus spores. This is typically caused by spores growing in dark mulch and is attracted to light colored siding. The spores then launch their ‘artillery’ at  the siding. While it is near impossible to clean, you can stop the spores by getting rid of the hardwood mulch and perhaps going with stone or another type of mulch where spores will not grow.

Brownish Grey (with shades of Green): Algae/mildew mixed. Dirt and dust typically under a porch or eave. Construction dirt.

Orange, Rusty Orange: Iron. This could be from a tint of orange to a deep vermilion. Any and all of it is characteristic of iron.

Medium Brown: Mud Dauber Insect or other insect nest. Some of these insects make nest on the siding others under the siding. A professional power washer should go back to make sure no insect nest is leeching from under the siding which can cause permanent brown stains that difficult to remove when dried.

Dark Brown: Bird’s nest mud. We will happily clean off these nest as long as mother chicks have flown the coop.

Pale Yellow: Pollen. From March-June every home here gets hit with Pollen, but is easily removed with House Washing.

Grayish White: Salt. With the consistency of skim milk the salt will be noticed near the ocean on windows when soft washing them.

White to off White (powder): Oxidation. Oxidation is a ‘pre existing condition’ typically on the south or sunny side(s) of a home. It is NOT dirt but a break down on the molecular level of the siding itself. An inexperienced power washer will leave streaks on your siding if it has oxidation present.

To test for oxidation, rub your fingers on the siding of the south side of the house. If a white chalk-like powder comes off on your fingers, you have oxidation!

The good news, all of these dirt colors can be removed with House Washing …

Believe it or not, The dirtier the house, the easier it is to clean. The cleaner side of the house is actually the bigger challenge because of the chance of oxidation. That’s good news for Delaware, Maryland and Virginia on the Delmarva peninsula, near the beaches, bay and inland properties as well.

Everything above can be cleaned except Artillery Fungus Spores. Oxidation has to be dealt with as an individual case and is worse with some siding colors such as tan or blue.

Here at DeckResurrect, we can clean your house and remove these unsightly stains from your precious Maryland and Delaware home. Give us a call at (410) 499-9209 or fill out the form on the sidebar and we will contact you within 24 hrs.

*Colors of dirt vary in shades to tints or other hues and are based on observation in the Mid Atlantic states. The above is neither an exhaustive or scientific study but based on over 25 years of observation in exterior cleaning.

Green around your house is beautiful! Green on your house is pretty ugly (yet easily removed). Unless, of course, you like green and it happens to be the color of your house. Remove the green algae with house washing Delmarva! Algae, mildew, pollen, construction dirt, insects like spiders and mud daubers all love to mar the outside of your beautiful home. We at DeckResurrect can safely pressure wash or soft-wash your home. SEE our examples on our House Washing page.

2.      Paint Prep

Most homes have some exterior wooden components such as columns, fascia and molding on them that are typically primed and painted. After a few years the low-grade construction paint flakes and needs to be cleaned off. Power washing helps painters in paint-prep by removing loose paint and prepping it to be re-primed and have new high-quality exterior paint applied. Not all painters own the equipment to do the cleaning portion of the previously painted surface. Once again, call us and we can assist the owner or painter in paint-prep. SEE the Paint Prep page on our website along with photos.

The sun’s UV rays can and will destroy your deck if your stain lacks great UV protection

3.      Deck Cleaning

“Our deck doesn’t need cleaning, we have composite … plus, its maintenance free.” Yeah ok, look a little closer. Even composite decking gets dirty. The newer composite decking boards like PVC, Azek and vinyl decking can clean with very mild detergents and a light wash. If you have railing made of these advanced materials it will always look great, but it will still get green algae or moss on its north side in this damp low to sea level environment. However, it goes without saying, the older composite decking requires more work to get clean. The real old stuff like the original Trex will not deep clean effectively at all, for which there has been a past class-action lawsuit. Nevertheless, the industry has come to assist older composite decking customers. Many newer latex stains will also stain older composite decks. However, this removes the main reason why you went with composite decking in the first place. But at aleast the new stains give new life to the otherwise ugly, first generation composite decking. If you decide, Delmarva residents, to save the old composite and stain it, or a wooden deck, then see the next category below.  If you have a wooden deck, then it goes without saying you need periodic deck cleaning. If it has solid latex stain on it now just have it cleaned, but reapply more latex solid stain as latex bonds well with additional latex. If it’s a hybrid alkyd/acrylic (oil/latex) mix or all oil, then it must be stripped professionally as new oil or hybrid stain likes to adhere to bare wood not a previous stain. At DeckResurrect, cleaning and staining decks is what we do, and it is our specialty. You can learn much more on our Deck Restoration page.

4.      Deck Staining

Deck staining is not rocket science, but there are a number of very important considerations before you pick a stain whether your are staining pressure treated wood, cedar, redwood, hardwoods like Ipe or older composite.

• Which direction does your deck face? Is it in the full southern sun or does it face north and barely gets sunlight since you live on a wooded lot? There is a big difference how your deck reacts to its orientation to the sun and therefore dictates what kind of stain you should use. The sun’s UV rays can and will destroy your deck if your stain lacks great UV protection.
• Is your deck nailed or screwed? This is not a stain question but very important. If your deck is nailed — which is most common but the least efficient for decks in Delmarva — then your deck, if facing full southern sun, will gradually come apart. Once again, nails for decks in a shaded lot is ok but not in full sun. If you face south or your deck is in strong sunlight, use deck screws and solid stain. Your deck will last considerably longer.
• Preparation is also key. Read the manufacturer’s stain application requirements. This is a time when you can’t always rely on UYT advice (University of YouTube, for which I am an alumnus), as some homeowners and contractors are not going about this correctly.

This is our 27th year of cleaning decks! See our website for further education on deck stain.

5.      Deck Repair & Inspection

I was a former home inspector before the 2008 mortgage meltdown, and inspector of commercial buildings between DE, MD and VA. I am also educated with 4 years of design drafting in vocational school. With that being said, some decks scare me sleepless. In fact, I became a home inspector after all the decks I cleaned, and I saw how poorly constructed many were built. They were accidents/lawsuits waiting to happen. Before you invite folks/family to have a graduation or holiday party at your home or vacation home, check the construction of your deck! Remember, if they pose for photos in a certain area of a deck, your deck –if poorly built — could collapse under the concentrated weight in that area (if it’s properly conscientiously constructed, no problem). You should not hesitate to beef-up your deck to have it better supported if need be. If you are at the beach you should use stainless steel components because the salt air and water can corrode zinc or galvanize brackets and screws. Lumber spans, joists span from each other, and distance of columns supporting girders are all things that need investigation. Does your deck bounce if you walk or jump in the middle of it? This is not good! It means your deck is under-built. Are your railing and balusters loose? Strongly consider making it stronger before family and friends come on the deck. Cap-rails are the first thing to go on a wooden deck in full sun (especially if nailed) and have poor UV protection. They should be replaced with new wooden components that are screwed, and in some cases the ends should be routered. Routering the ends helps prevents twisting in the sun for cap-rails.

6.      Concrete, Sidewalk, Pool Area & Driveway Cleaning

Surface cleaning of concrete, steps, sidewalks and driveways is commonly needed as concrete can get disgustingly dirty. We don’t expect customers to have surface cleaners, so call us Delmarva residents, and we will power wash your concrete surfaces.

7.      Roof Cleaning

Roof cleaning has become a genuine necessity on the Eastern Shore of Delmarva as less roofing material is made from asphalt or is petroleum-based as it was in the past.  Now, or for some time, it has limestone in it. Algae, lichen and moss feed off of organic limestone on roofs causing black streaks on roofs (just like decks). Again, orientation to the north typically is where it grows, but some roofs are so dirty they need cleaning everywhere.

In conclusion, this is not an exhaustive list of things to clean on the exterior of your home. But for many us it should be on the top of our ‘honey-do-list’ if we want to keep our mates happy and enjoy our beautiful home. Give us a call Delmarva, Kent Island and Annapolis or fill out our contact info on the upper right and we here at DeckResurrect look forward to being of service to you in: House Washing, Paint Prep, Deck Cleaning and Staining, Deck Repair and Inspection, Concrete and Roof Cleaning.

Home Inspection School link

Wolman Educated Contractor

THE NORTH SIDE GREEN ALGAE PROBLEM: The north side of the house is infamous for growing unwanted green algae or mildew on vinyl siding due to the high presence of moisture-to-ground contact, or closeness of the home’s siding to the ground, and finally, the lack of sunlight on that north side. Additionally, the flatter Eastern shore Maryland and Delaware land with poor water drainage and lack of sunlight on the north side contributes to this green monster taking over our homes. Algae growth proliferates here in Delmarva’s Eastern Shore.

At the conclusion of our visits, customers typically thank us as if we moved them into a new home!

HOUSE WASHING SOLUTIONS: The solution is a simple house washing by DeckResurrect. We use safe detergents and natural products to clean your home. In addition to cleaning your siding and making it look like a new home again. We can also remove pollen, farm and construction dust. Clean concrete like new. Cleaning and staining decks is common for us but with better stain products than ever from manufacturers for you (seriously, these stain products have upped their game). We clean docks and pool areas as well. We are a small family run company that has been power washing or pressure washing for over 25 years! Give us a call and view our gallery of work. We do work from the beaches of the Eastern Shore to Kent Island and Annapolis.

Dock before Cleaning

Dock after Pressure Washing & Staining with Toner, Cambridge, MD

Concrete before cleaning

Concrete after Power Washing, Georgetown, DE

Before Pressure Washing

After House Washing, Georgetown, DE

At the conclusion of our visits, customers typically thank us as if we moved them into a new home! We would be happy to clean your home’s exterior with house and deck washing.