Calgary deck cleaning and restoration for cedar, pressure-treated and composite
Low-pressure wash plus a brightener pass brings the natural wood colour back without raising the grain. Heavily weathered cedar with patchy old stain gets the full restoration — strip, sand, fresh penetrating finish. Composite decks need a soap-and-rinse approach because the cap layer cannot take chemistry meant for wood. Most Calgary deck jobs land between $300 and $900 depending on size, condition and whether you are restoring or just cleaning.
High pressure raises the grain — chemistry lifts the grey without splintering
Cedar and pressure-treated wood weather to a silver-grey because UV breaks down the lignin in the upper grain. A 4,000 PSI tip pointed at that grey will rip the soft grain out and leave the board looking like a fresh splintered cedar shake. The right method is a low-pressure rinse (under 1,200 PSI at the wood) plus a wood brightener — usually oxalic acid in a water carrier — that neutralises the UV oxidation and brings the natural tannin colour back without lifting the grain.
For decks beyond just cleaning, we pair the wash with the next service in the wood-restoration ladder. Stripping for an old failed stain. Sanding for splintered boards. Re-stain with a penetrating semi-transparent finish that lets the grain show through. See wood restoration for the full ladder and fence cleaning if the deck and the back fence are on the same property.
Recent work
How a Calgary deck clean runs
Four steps from grey weathered to natural wood colour
Inspect and identify substrate
Walk the deck with you, confirm cedar, pressure-treated or composite, note splintered boards, loose deck screws and gaps that need attention before re-stain. Plants below the deck pre-wet, joists checked for rot.
Low-pressure wash
Under 1,200 PSI at the wood for cedar, under 1,800 for pressure-treated. Composite gets a soap-and-rinse with a deck-safe surfactant. Direction follows the grain so the surface stays smooth.
Brightener pass
Oxalic acid brightener neutralises the UV oxidation that turned the wood grey. Dwell time five to ten minutes, then a low-pressure rinse to take the brightener residue down the lawn-safe pH.
Drying, walkaround, optional stain
Walkaround with you so you can see the colour come back. Moisture meter check at 48-72 hours before any re-stain work happens. If you booked the stain, we return for that visit on a confirmed dry day.
Calgary deck realities
Chinook UV, prairie sun and the south-facing deck cycle
Calgary decks live a hard life. South-facing decks get more UV per year than most Canadian cities because the chinook days are clear and dry and the elevation is high. Cedar weathers grey faster than it would in Vancouver, pressure-treated stays green longer but cracks on the surface earlier, composite holds colour but stains around the BBQ get baked in. Annual cleaning catches the weathering before it becomes restoration. Stain refresh every two to three years on a south-facing cedar deck keeps the colour locked in.
Pair the deck with the fence cleaning when both are on the property — same wood, same chemistry, same crew visit. If you are also booking driveway cleaning at the same visit, the deck wash happens first while the driveway is still under the equipment set-up. Talk to us about a seasonal maintenance schedule if you want it on the calendar before the worst UV months hit.
Written quotesPricing
Annual + as-neededCadence
Hartford deck cleaningResult
Pair deck cleaning with
Wood and outdoor services that pair on the same visit
Wood restoration uses the same chemistry across deck, fence and pergola work. When the chemistry and the crew are already on site, pairing services drops the per-square-foot cost.
Cleaning is the low-pressure wash plus brightener pass — removes dirt, mildew and the grey UV oxidation, brings the natural wood colour back. Restoration goes further — strips old stain, sands the upper face if the wood is splintered, and finishes with a fresh penetrating stain or sealer. Cleaning suits decks under three years old. Restoration is the right call when the existing stain has gone patchy or the boards have weathered grey.
Yes, with substrate-specific approaches. Cedar takes the gentlest mix and a wider fan tip to protect the soft grain. Pressure-treated takes a slightly more aggressive wash since the wood is denser. Composite (Trex, TimberTech, Azek) needs the mildest soap-and-rinse approach because the cap layer is plastic-based and any acid would etch it. We confirm the material before the wash so the method matches the deck.
Forty-eight to seventy-two hours for cedar and pressure-treated, longer in cool spring or fall weather. The wood needs to dry to under 15% moisture content before stain will absorb properly. We bring a moisture meter on the re-stain visit so we are not guessing — Calgary chinook days can dry a deck in 36 hours, a wet stretch in May can push the dry time to a week.
We do not do carpentry work but we will flag the boards that need replacement before the wash and the staining. Most Calgary decks have one or two boards near the stairs or the perimeter that should be swapped before the new stain is applied. We will name a carpenter from our trades list and time the work so the deck is back in service inside two weeks.
Not the regular wash — it cleans on top of the existing finish without lifting it. If the stain is failing and you want it removed for a fresh coat, we add a chemical stain stripper as a separate step. The stripper is more aggressive than the wash and you would book it specifically. The choice depends on whether you want to refresh the look or start over — we will talk through both at the quote.
Calgary deck cleaning reviews
What homeowners say after the deck wash
★★★★★4.9· 75 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Cedar deck off the kitchen had gone silver-grey on the south face. The crew did the low-pressure wash plus the brightener pass, the natural cedar colour came back without any grain raised. Booked the re-stain three days later. Total deck looks brand-new.
U. V.
Calgary · Lakeview
★★★★★
Composite deck (Trex) had grease stains from the BBQ and algae in the shaded corners. They used a deck-safe soap and a soft rinse, no acid anywhere near the boards. Clean came up and the colour stayed consistent across the deck.
Z. R.
Calgary · Kensington
★★★★★
Pressure-treated deck I had been neglecting for five years. They were upfront that two of the rim boards needed replacement before the stain went on, gave me the name of a carpenter and timed the visit around when those boards would be in. Honest service.
X. L.
Calgary · Acadia
★★★★★
Booked the deck plus the fence in the same visit. Same chemistry, same crew, half-day job total. The cedar fence looks as good as the deck now and the next stain refresh is on the calendar for two years out.
I. G.
Calgary · Sunnyside
From the blog
Deck cleaning and restoration notes
Free written estimate
Get your Calgary deck cleaning quote in writing
Tell us the deck size, the substrate (cedar, pressure-treated, composite) and whether you are cleaning only or going to a full restoration with re-stain. A Hartford estimator follows up within one business day. Most jobs land in the $300 to $900 range.
