How To Clean Your Pool Deck The Affordable Way
Maintaining a pool can be quite expensive. But did you know you can cut some of that cost by cleaning your pool deck yourself? With just a few household items and a little work, you will not have to hire professionals or spend a fortune on a power washer.
Below you can find a step-by-step guide to affordably clean your pool deck using just a few inexpensive household items. You do not have to spend an unnecessary amount of money to hire a professional to come out to your house or use fancy chemicals to get your pool deck clean.
Table of Contents
Water Landscape Around Pool and Gather Supplies
The first thing you need to do is water the landscape around the pool area. This is extremely important because even though you are using a mild cleaner, you do not want any chemicals to harm your plants. By watering before you apply the cleaner, it will block any chemicals from seeping into the ground. Once that is done, it is time to gather the supplies you will need to clean your pool deck.
- Mild Degreasing Dish Soap such as Dawn. You can also opt for a more natural brand of soap like Mrs. Meyer’s. Using this type of cleaner limits reactions to harmful chemicals and is much more cost-effective than leading industry cleaners. You can find this at a local grocery store, or a dollar store which cuts the price down.
- A Large Bucket. The size of your deck will determine the size bucket you will need. You may be okay using a five-gallon, but you can easily find a fifteen to twenty-gallon bucket if needed. These can be purchased at a local home improvement store, Amazon, or even a local pet supplies store.
- A Mop. It does not have to be fancy or new. You just need to be able to fit it into the bucket of cleaner. You might have one in the back of a closet. If not, check a local home improvement store or grocery store. You can find one for a reasonable price at either of those locations.
- A Hard-Bristled Broom. A sturdy and affordable deck broom can be found on Amazon if one needs to be purchased. You can also find one at your local home improvement store.
- A Hose. If you have a sprayer hose attachment, using it will make this process a lot faster. If not, a regular hose will work just fine.
These are all the items that you will need to clean your pool deck. Even if you have to purchase every item, it will still be more cost-effective than hiring a professional.
Note
Please note that you can also use pool bleach if you prefer that to dish soap. Pool bleach can be purchased at any home improvement store modestly priced. If you choose to go that route, it is extremely important to follow the bottle’s dilution instructions.
Time To Clean
You watered your landscape to protect it from any chemical damage and gathered your supplies. Now it is time to put in the real work. Below you will find the steps to guide you through mixing, applying, brushing, and rinsing your cleaning solution.
Mix Your Cleaning Solution
Now that all your prep work is done, it is time to mix your cleaning solution. In the large bucket mix a solution of fifty percent mild degreasing dish soap and fifty percent warm water. This mixture can be easily adjusted depending on how dirty your pool deck is, but it is recommended to start with the fifty-fifty percent ratio. Warm water is best for this solution to help break down:
- Dirt
- Grime
- Mold
- Mildew
- Algae
Think of it as washing dishes. You always wash dishes with warm or hot water because it cleans and degreases better than cold water.
Apply Cleaning Mixture to Deck With Mop
After mixing your cleaning solution, simply submerge your mop into the bucket to drench it in the solution. Then, mop the deck to apply the solution as if you were mopping inside the house.
You can do this one section at a time if you are unsure of the strength of the solution. Do not use the hard-bristled brush at this step. Remember, you are just applying the solution.
Once you have applied the desired amount, let the cleaner sit on the surface for fifteen to twenty minutes to allow it to break down the dirt and grime. You should begin to see the dirt break down after a few minutes, indicating that it is working!
If you are cleaning a wood pool deck, apply the cleaning solution and let it sit for ten minutes instead of twenty minutes before proceeding to the next step. You don’t want to ruin the integrity of the wood or cause damage to the structure.
Scrub Deck With Hard-Bristled Broom
Now it is time to put in a little elbow grease. The amount of work this will take depends on how dirty the pool deck is.
After fifteen to twenty minutes, the solution will have had time to break down the
- Dirt
- Mildew
- Grime
- Sludge
Take your hard-bristled broom and begin to scrub the cleaning mixture in a back and forth motion. Be careful not to push the cleaning solution into the pool itself as that can cause chemical imbalances in the pool’s water.
If you find some dirty areas are tougher and are not coming as clean as you would like them, you can repeat the process of applying the cleaning solution with the mop, letting it sit, and then trying scrubbing again with the broom.
At that point, you may also want to adjust the ratio of the solution itself to make it a little stronger, if necessary, by using sixty percent dish soap and forty percent water, or seventy percent dish soap and thirty percent water.
Rinse Solution Off Deck Area With Hose
When you have scrubbed and cleaned the deck to your satisfaction, use a simple garden hose to rinse off the cleaning solution. Again, be careful not to wash the cleaner in the pool itself. In order to avoid doing that, spray the hose pushing the solution and dirt away from the pool.
Applying Sealant To Your Clean Pool Deck
If you are going to apply sealant, it is important to wait until the deck is completely dry after washing it. It will typically take two to three days to completely dry out. When your deck is ready for the sealant, you can use and purchase whichever kind you prefer but make sure it is waterproof and has mildew preventative to
- Preserve your deck
- Avoid damage.
The cost of the sealant will depend on where you purchase it and the type of deck you are sealing. Some popular brands are
Each of these products can be found at a local home improvement store.
You Could Save Hundreds of Dollars
Depending on the size of your deck, you can easily spend up to $600 to have your pool deck professionally cleaned. For under $200 and without the hassle of renting expensive power-washing equipment, you can clean your pool deck yourself, get some exercise, and pay yourself for the labor by hopping in the pool after you are finished.
Need to clean your brick patio, or clean your pvc fence? We’ve got plenty of other cleaning tips as well.
