Teak Cleaning Products and Techniques
Over time and exposure to the elements, teak will develop a silver/grey outer layer. This graying process is the first sign of your teak starting to weather, which can eventually lead to damage, coloration staining, and irreversible wood rot. In order to keep your teak deck and teak furniture looking and performing its best, your teak deck must be periodically cleaned and treated. There a number of methods out there to clean your deck, some good, some not so good, and some downright damaging.
Pressure washing teak is probably the worst method out there that I have seen. The end result may look cleaner because the pressure blasted away all of the grey surface wood, but it also removes a lot of the soft grain wood fiber and will shorten the life of your boat deck or furniture. This leaves an incredibly uneven and rough surface which will require a significant amount of sanding to get back down to a smooth finish. All in all, this method removes an unnecessary amount of wood. When it comes to teak furniture and teak decking, it is best to remove as little of the wood as possible to increase the lifespan of the wood.
Another option is to use a teak cleaner. There are many different two part cleaners out there such as: Star Brite Premium Teak Care Kit, Snappy Teak-Nu, Semco Teak Cleaner, and SudBury Two-Part Teak Cleaner. All of these products will provide relatively effective results, some better than others. All of these products contain chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. Protective measures must be taken when working with these chemicals. These chemicals are also harmful to the environment so working with them carefully is highly recommended. When working in a contained environment and making sure all liquid chemicals are disposed of properly, they may be used.
Teak Works is proud to say that we use a 100% environmentally friendly teak cleaning product made by Teak Decking Systems. We use both the E-100 Teak Cleaner Powder and the E-300 Teak Cleaner Liquid. These highly effective teak cleaners are 100% environmentally safe and non-toxic. When working teak on boats we take the upmost precaution as not to harm the boat itself or the water ways that we all love to enjoy. The application process of using such products is just as important as choosing the product itself. Our skilled team of teak cleaning professionals use the proper equipment and techniques to clean your teak the best way possible.