DEFY Wood Cleaner

First, this is a cleaner, not a brightener. We used to use Wolman powdered cleaner but, then, couldn’t find it. I used the liquid kind a few times but it’s quite expensive and the extra is in such a large container, you need to have adequate space to store it. I found this and decided to try it. I was very pleased and when you mix it yourself, you get more for the money and the container stores easily. It cleaned all the moldy and dark stains from our covered porch and exposed decking. I mixed it and applied with a deck sprayer. I scrubbed a few troublesome spots with a stiff brush on a broom handle. Rinsed with the garden hose. Let dry. Repeat if you think you need to. I did follow up with deck brightener and then stain. My spaces turned out beautiful!

this stuff is amazing for preparing our porch for refinishing. We've used it twice in the past 4 years as the porch needs to be recoated every 4 years. Bought extra to have on hand. Cleans and brightens wood - removes mildew stains. LOVE IT.

After reading many reviews here I thought this would be a good and safe method to clean my acacia wood (a cheap teak substitute) patio furniture without risking harm to my surrounding garden plants. Having had a well meaning BF "wash" and oil my 3 year old "teak" last year encasing yucky black mildew into the finish I was eager to restore the wood to a more appealing shade. I had no idea how much elbow grease it would take; my wrists were aching for days. If you're in a situation like mine I highly suggest getting a nylon bristle drill attachment though maybe it won't be so bad if your wood hasn't been previously oiled. I could not bring myself to sacrifice a week off work (from carpal tunnel pain) and scrub every inch but there was a definite improvement...and then it dried. The wood took on a bit of a powdery appearance, not because I had failed to rinse it well but because I didn't realize I needed to use a wood brightener following the treatment to (presumably) neutralize the oxygen bleach (according to many sources I found) and further strip away the impurities. Here I was assuming brightener was only a suggestion...oh well. I guess I could have left it be, but I knew it would irk me if I did. Not wanting to make a special trip to big box stores, nor wait till the following weekend I made the trip to our tiny, old fashioned, local hardware store and picked up a box of oxyalic acid (the key ingredient in wood brighteners) for about $8. After treating the furniture to that (you can find directions online) I neutralized the acid with baking soda, rinsed the crap out if it and let it dry. At this point it looked pretty dull but much cleaner. Finally I oiled it all with tung oil twice, and scrubbed the raised grain with a coarse scrubber pad and sandpaper between coats. While not a perfect job my wood is now a natural shade of brown and no longer an embarrassing, murky mess. Now if I can just figure out how to keep the birds off of it...

Very easy to apply. It was definitely easier on a cloudy day. When I worked on a sunny day, the product did dry out quickly. As the cleaner sat (between 10-15 minutes), the dirt and mildew just came to the top of the wood. Gave it a good scrub, then rinsed well. Amazing results! I had power washed the deck last year with a different cleaner. Hands down, Defy is the winner!

I tried about every possible combination of applying, rinsing, OxyClean ratios, wet, dry, pressure washer, garden hose, paint brush, roller, etc.. I have to say. Doing it EXACTLY like their 2 minute videos show, with the addition of a stiff bristle brushing, is certainly the most effective way. The wood cleaner and wood brightener really MUST be used as a combo deal. You won't get the best effect using just one. Trust me. What I learned. DO get the wood wet before using both products. You won't get a good result going on dry and thinking a "stronger, less diluted" application would be better.. Nope.. Pressure washer vs hose. Tried both. Like a hose better. The pressure washer actually doesn't put out a good volume of water, rather just high pressure. In the interest of not ripping the pores open, and actually rinsing the product, I found the hose with a spray nozzle much better. Highly recommend a bristle brush to scrub both products with. The yellow one on Amazon was too stiff. I liked the brown one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FTPT62/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Both the cleaner and the brightener turned my wood to kind of a surface jelly of fibers and dirt and without giving it a brushing, it didn't work as well. Keep things wet, don't try to do too much of an area at once. Application goes well with a sprayer. You'll be there for an eternity any other way. Make sure the brightener doesn't get in contact with any painted surfaces. It really will etch paint. DON'T use OxyClean. I tried it. I tried it in several ratios, in combination with the cleaner, solo, etc. Its little blue flecks in it are soap or something thats not desired, at least for me. The foaming action it presents is not what you want when rinsing your deck. Its a hassle. Its also half as strong (as a guess based on sample areas) so you use a bunch more and still don't get as good of a result. I'm using mine on Kiln dried Cedar decking and header timbers. About 1600 square feet.