I few years ago when we decided to purchase a home we wanted to make sure that we found our dream home. After six months of looking, we almost gave up. But then we found it. Our dream home was the perfect distance from the city but was also close to the country that we have come to love! It had the perfect kitchen, two living rooms for our large family and the bedrooms were huge!
The only thing we were not in love with was our deck- or should I say lack of a deck. If you look at the picture to the right you will see a sliding glass door on our second story. If you look close- the door is open and there is a white “baby gate” protecting people from tumbling out the door and falling down two stories! Believe it or not- that baby gate was added by our builders and was supposed to be a permanent fixture in our house!
I was not comfortable with that gate being over that door and I really wanted some extra living space so after much debate, we added a beautiful deck. Our builder told us that we had to wait for around a year after it was done being built to stain it and we finally came up on our year this summer!
The first thing we needed to do was clean our deck. We decided to use Thompsons Waterseal Oxy Foaming Action Exterior Multi Surface Cleaner
The Oxy is about 15.00 a container, and each container makes 5 gallons. We used three containers, but washed our deck twice! We decided to clean our deck on a weekend when most of the kids were at grandma’s. We put on some older clothes and gloves and let the spraying begin!
Application of the Oxy Cleaner is so easy!
- Get your deck wet!
- Mix 3 caps of the Oxy Foaming Action with one gallon of hot tap water in a five gallon pail
- Mix till crystals are dissolved.
- Use a plastic pump
to apply the solution to the entire deck.
- Wait 5-10 minutes.
- Scrub the surface with a stiff bristle brush broom
to remove all residue that does not immediately come up.
- Thoroughly rinse the surface using a garden hose or a pressure washer.
Just cleaning our deck made a world of difference and it only cost around 90.00. We used:
3 Containers of Thompsons Waterseal Oxy Cleaner
Plastic pump
Stiff bristle brush broom
Five gallon pail= 6.22
Because the Thompsons cleaner did such a great job, we knew that we wanted to use them to stain our deck too. After browsing the colors and options, we finally decided to use Thompson’s WaterSeal Deck & House Semi-Transparent Latex Waterproofing Stain
Application of the Thompson’s Stain is so easy!
- Clean your deck to remove all mildew, dust, dirt, oil, soot, grease and other contaminants.
- After cleaning your deck, you must wait two days, with no rain to stain. Your neck must be dry!
- Shake or mix thoroughly before application.
- Then paint your deck!
- Let dry for two hours.
- If needed, apply a second coat.
- 6 Gallons of Thompson’s WaterSeal Deck & House Semi-Transparent Latex Waterproofing Stain
- Wide paintbrushes
- Bottle of degreaser
to get paint off railings
To really see the difference you need a side by side…
Even now, when I am out on my deck, I can not believe the difference and how amazing our deck now looks thanks to Thompson’s!
Buy It: You can check out the various Thompson’s cleaners and exterior wood stains out by visiting ThompsonsWaterSeal.com!
Wow! We’ve been REALLY needing to stain the deck at our new house, and it seems like such a big job. Nice to know that Thompson’s work so well! I’ll have to tell my husband…we’re new to this whole deck thing! Thanks for the info! (Looks great, by the way!)
Thanks Wendy!
looks way better. and omg. i can’t believe a builder thought that would be acceptable. wow.
Alllll of our neighbors still have the ‘baby gate’!
We really need to get some of this for our decks.
Thompson’s Oxy Cleaner and Deck Stain Looks Like A Great Product.
Thanks For The Great Review.
What an incredible difference. My daughter and SIL just bought a house and it has a large deck . It needs to be cleaned and stained and I cannot wait to show her this post. Thanks for the review on Thompsons.
Carol L.
WOW! We have never had a deck since they aren’t common at all here in Las Vegas, but I adore the side by side comparison and the wonderful transformation thanks to Thompson’s!
Very impressive before and after pics! My deck is in huge need of attention and could use some help from Thompson’s… after we repair a couple of areas, pressure wash it and remove an old built-in flower box. We have a nice, large deck out back but unfortunately we’re not great at maintenance. This helps inspire me to do something about it!
This is one product I swear by– it gives very good results–thanks for the review
I’ve never used this, but I hear it’s good stuff.
We love Thompsons Deck Stain but I didn’t know they had a deck cleaner too. Before we stain our deck next time I will definitely use this cleaner. Thank you for the great review!
My porch needs this so bad! It has been so neglected. Thanks for the before and after, it really helps to see what the product can do!
We really need some of this!
What a huge difference! Your deck looks beautiful!
Would love do this on my back deck!! looks awesome!
Wow–what a huge difference in the before and after pictures! I want to try this for our deck.
Been wondering about this product. Thanks for all the useful info!
What a difference it makes
I need this so badly for my deck. They are a company I trust.
the deck looks awesome
Your deck came out beautiful Skye! I just pressure washed my porch but the floors really need staining.
Hugs…Tracy @ Cotton Pickin Cute
nice to hear about a product with great results; thanks for the thumbs up!
What a huge difference! I would love to get some of this to stain/protect my son’s sandbox 🙂
This sounds great! I could use it for my deck 🙂
Looks great– I have used it myself and its does a fine job or cleaning up something that looks bad
Wow! What an amazing difference! My parents need this so bad for there pool deck, i’ll have to recommend it! Thanks for the great review!
In your review, I note that Thompsons Waterseal Oxy Foaming Action Exterior Multi Surface Cleaner removes stains from dirt, mildew, algae and fungus on a range of outdoor surfaces, including wood and composite decks, fences, concrete, masonry, brick, stucco, outdoor furniture, roofs, siding and some fabrics such as awnings and vinyl plastics. This product would definitely come in handy for my home in Florida. Thanks for the tip.
deck looks good i’ll have to try this
OMG what a difference.
I have a deck that looks like your first pic.
I want my deck to look as nice as yours.
Thanks so much for the info.
Wow what a difference. Keeping this product in mind for the future!
Wow; those before and after pictures are amazing and it sounds easy enough to add to the “to do” list. That stain really made the wood look great!
Wow! The deck looks great!
We should use that on our fence!
Looks great! What a huge difference.
Wow, I love how much brighter it looks afterwards!
I really need this for our deck. I am sure it would really help ours out. I’m totally telling my husband about this! Thanks for the information!!
Wow! Your deck looks awesome! I’ve seen people who’s decks were absolutely down right gross and they used this and it looked like a deck was put in. This stuff is amazing! Makes me wish I had a pretty deck but I live in an apt so I have a small patio. Thanks for sharing your picks! 🙂
i’ll have to try this stain
wow that looks great. Great job
Thompson’s water seal has been around for many years and has always been one of the best on the market. Good to see that they are still doing good. I so need to get this a do the same with my deck. Thank you for the information.
Our deck looks like that first picture. It is about 10 years old so it has some wear and tear on it, but it also is on the north side of the house so it gets a lot of shade which means lots of green stuff growing on the deck and mildew on the siding. I need to get some of this stuff…. thanks for the review!
this is awesome..my deck is older and this might do the trick!!