Wood decks can be a center of relaxation and comfort for their owners. A place where you can while away the afternoon or weekend in peace, set up beautiful outdoor furniture and sip drinks as the day lazily passes, or munch on barbecue fresh from the grill. In order to provide years of necessary comfort, exterior wood surfaces require you do a little care and maintenance each year.

1. PREPARE THE SURFACE. Proper surface preparation ensures that a finish will adhere and last. Surface preparation is critical to the successful performance of any exterior coating. 85% of all coatings complaints are a result of improper surface preparation. Dirty wood or previously stained wood does not allow a penetrating finish to fully wet and penetrate into a wood surface, resulting in a finish that doesn’t last. Powerwashing alone can be damaging to the wood.

The process differs for unfinished wood then from previously stained/finished wood. Flood's Dekswood® Deck Cleaner & Brightener is an excellent choice for cleaning and brightening unfinished wood, and our StainStrip® Exterior Stain Stripper works fast on stained and finished wood.

• Surface preparation for "unfinished" wood surfaces: Before applying a finish, the surface needs to be cleaned to remove dirt, discoloration and environmental contaminants. By using Flood Dekswood Deck Cleaner & Brightener you will remove foot traffic dirt and other contaminants deposited by Mother Nature. This gentle, but hardworking wood cleaner will clean and brighten wood surfaces so the application of a finish will perform as it is meant to do.

• Surface preparation for “previously” stained wood surfaces. You may be thinking that it’s time to restain the exterior wood surfaces in your backyard. Before rushing into this project, you need to remove the old, weathered finish down to bare, clean and porous wood to ensure the new finish can penetrate into the wood and last for years. Flood StainStrip Exterior Stain Stripper does the work for you. It strips previous latex and oil stain/finishes from exterior wood.

2. ANNUAL MAINTENANCE OF EXTERIOR WOOD SURFACES. It’s not necessary to restain wood surfaces every year. However, it is critical to keep wood clean and free of dirt and grime. Another benefit of Dekswood® is that it will not only clean unfinished wood, but it will enliven and refresh the color of a Flood finish.

You should also check for damaged boards once a year. The boards that make up the surface of your deck and steps are subject to all kinds of stress and usage. Over time, they will wear out or rot. Examine the surface boards of your deck. Look for signs of stress, like excessive curling, cracking, rotting, or severed boards. Any you find will need to be replaced.