dakotab13•1mo agoMost Upvoted

My buddy swore by pressure washing before staining, but the old-timer next door said wait 2 weeks

My friend Randy told me to power wash my deck and stain it the next day, like he always does. But my neighbor Bob, who's been building porches for 30 years, said I'd be wasting my time if I didn't let the wood dry out for at least 10 days after washing. I went with Randy's advice because it was faster, and now 4 months later the stain is peeling off in spots where the wood was still damp. So which approach actually works long term - quick and dirty or waiting it out? Has anyone else had a deck fail because they rushed the drying time?

2 comments

2 Comments

troy_adams1mo ago

You mentioned the stain peeling where the wood was still damp, but was that all over or just in certain spots like between the boards? I'm wondering if the pressure washing itself could've messed up the wood grain, not just the moisture. Did Randy crank up the pressure and get real close to the wood? Because I've seen guys blast the hell out of soft pine and basically shred the surface fibers, which makes stain peel no matter how long you wait. Was the peeling mostly in areas where the water pooled or where the spray was most intense?

jason_stone1mo ago

Hate that you're dealing with this, sounds like a real headache. Randy's pressure washing technique could definitely be the culprit if he got too aggressive on soft pine, shredding the surface fibers makes stain peel every time. Hope you can get it sorted without having to strip and redo the whole thing.