Summer has officially begun and it’s likely that any deck owners out there have been made the designated hosts of the season. Whether you’ve been hosting backyard barbecues since April or your patio hasn’t seen life in almost a year, the wood of your deck might look a little worn out. That was this deck-owners’ qualm, and right before she was about to have people over for her first summer get together, too.

So what did she do? She gave her deck the most epic cleaning.

Power washing can have amazing results on dirty decks, but sometimes your wooden surfaces just need a little more TLC. In this case, with a patio covered in thick dirty and algae before her, this clever cleaner came up with a perfect DIY solution that would take things up a notch.

The solution came in the form of a two-part cleaner, in which both ingredients were cheap to buy AND non-toxic. The lack of toxicity was crucial for her since she had plants surrounding her deck and pets that would be roaming the patio after its cleaning. In general, non-toxic options are always best to use in spaces where you’ll be hosting people or inhabiting regularly.

However, it’s easy to assume that “non-toxic” also means “organic and/or very expensive.” But not the case! One of these ingredients is already at your house and the other you can pick up for next to nothing at most stores.

Here’s what you’ll need for this safe deck cleaner:

• 1/2 cup of Oxi-Clean
• 2 gallons of warm water (depends on deck size)

Now you’re probably calling us liars, right? How could we allude that Oxi-Clean, of all things, isn’t toxic? Well, you might be happily surprised to hear about how this product is made!

According to Hometalk, “oxygen bleach uses oxygen to ions to break down dirt, which means no harmful chemicals are involved at all.” So while we wouldn’t suggest, say, drinking this substance, it’s a relatively safe and cheap product perfect for this job.

Not only is this DIY solution easy to make, cheap to make, and safe to make, it also works like a dream. The before and after pictures speak for themselves; her deck looks brand new after doing this simple procedure, with months of caked-on grime instantly banished.

She suggests starting by soaking your entire deck with warm water from your hose, wetting 20 sq. ft. at a time so the deck doesn’t dry before the next step. Next, apply your oxygen bleach to the deck wood and scrub the panels with a deck brush.

You should start to see the grime coming off right away!

Let the solution sit on the porch for a few minutes after scrubbing and then rinse it all with another go-over with your hose. When it dries, you should be pleasantly surprised by the end result. Now all that’s left to do is party!

What do you think of this deck cleaner? Do you clean your deck in a more efficient way? Make sure to share your thoughts and ideas with us.