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.

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!

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.

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!
