How to Clean a Bare, Unfinished-Cedar Wood Deck Without Harsh Chemicals

If your beautiful, unfinished cedar or other natural-wood deck is looking more weathered than you like or has moss, lichen, or other dirt on it, there's a quick and easy way to clean it without wasting money on harsh chemicals. I've done this many times on my own bare cedar deck and get better—and faster—results than when I used commercial deck cleaners. Note that this process may or may not work on decks that have been painted, stained, or varnished--test in a small hidden spot before attempting to use this procedure on those surfaces.

• A deck-scrubbing brush (a stiff-bristled broom may also work)
• Dawn-brand liquid dishwashing soap (it's biodegradable and relatively safe for animals and nearby plants). Note that other brands of dishwashing soap may work just as well, but I can't recommend them because I haven't tried them.
• A large scrub bucket, such as a 5 gallon barrel

1. Pour a medium amount of dishwashing liquid into the bucket--about twice the amount you'd use to wash a sink full of dishes.
2. Fill the bucket with enough water to cover your deck surface.
3. Using the deck brush, apply the soapy water liberally to all surfaces you want to clean.
4. Wait 10-15 minutes for the solution to soak in and do its work, making sure the surfaces don't dry out during this time. (Apply more soapy water to any areas that start to dry too soon.)
5. Use the deck brush to scrub the grime right off of your deck—with minimal scrubbing, even the dirtiest, darkest messes should come right off, leaving beautiful natural wood underneath.
6. When you are done scrubbing, either hose off the deck or use your scrub bucket to rinse away the grime and soap.

• If any dirty areas remain, repeat this process.
• Warm water may work better, though I use the cold water straight from the hose.
• This process probably works just as well with other outdoor items, like plastic faux-wood decking and wood or plastic outdoor furniture; test in an inconspicuous spot before attempting to clean entire objects.
• I recommend NOT using a pressure washer on real wood decks, bare or stained, because it causes the surface to become damaged--you can feel the difference by walking barefoot before and after, and the damage pressure washers do has been in the news a lot the last few years. Destroying the wood surface by using a pressure washer is probably (my guess) going to reduce its lifespan, increase its vulnerability to insects, change how it works with stains and clearcoats, and probably some other things as well. In any case, the cleaning method I describe above works on bare wood with mild to medium hose pressure or a mop and clear water, which don't damage the deck surface, so pressure washers aren't needed.

If this process works just as well for you, or on other outdoor objects, or if you have an even cleaner/greener/easier solution, please let me know!