Why does cedar turn black

Bleaching oil is a two-step process. First, the oil tones the wood with a light gray pigment to fix the color. Power washing can be used to clean cedar as long as the sprayer is set at a low pressure to prevent damaging the wood's soft surface.

Once cleaned and allowed to dry, the wood can then be painted using a urethane-acrylic house paint. It is unsightly, but the cedar has not been damaged. A safe deep-cleaner for wood siding is oxygen bleach. It is a powder that mixes with water. It is non-toxic to vegetation and trees and will not remove any natural color from the siding. You simply keep the wood siding wet with the oxygen bleach solution for 15 minutes.

OxiClean is a good all-purpose cleaner for all types of outdoor stain and mildew removal, including on home siding. OxiClean can safely be used to clean building siding. Because cedar siding is receptive to paint or stain, homeowners can easily add, change , or extend the color of it over the years. With new cedar siding , all coating options remain on the table including semi-transparent stains.

Sweep or brush off the cedar area completely with your broom, removing any large debris and any dirt that can be brushed off easily. Mix the exterior wood wash, according to package directions, with water in the large bucket.

Clean off the wood wash mixture using a power washer or garden hose. Dry the cedar. Scrub the surface mold stains from walls and wood trim with a mixture of 1 qt. Use a soft brush and work until signs of the mold disappear. After scrubbing the surfaces, simply allow the bleach solution to continue to penetrate the surfaces and dry.

Mold can grow on cedar when high relative humidity exists. You can control this problem indoors for objects like cedar dressers and chests using a portable dehumidifier.

If you have high humidity outdoors, paint objects like cedar decking with a fungus -resistant paint to prevent mold growth. The oxygen bleach comes as a granular powder that mixes with water. It is non toxic to trees and vegetation and will not remove natural color from the siding.

Obtain a Keep cedar looking its best by dusting with a soft cloth or vacuum cleaner brush as needed. Eastern Red Cedar Oil is a natural fungicide and microbicide that kills mold and mildew spores and its roots on all surfaces and within porous materials.

Use this solution in your pressure washer to get stubborn mold patches off of the wood fence. Christmas Trees. Holiday Lighting.

Gift Cards. Design Dilemma. Need help with my exterior: cedar shingles gone dark. Miriam 5 years ago. Email Save Comment 4. Sort by: Oldest. Newest Oldest. Anna Kriebel 5 years ago. Like 1 Save. Miriam Original Author. Like Save. Related Discussions Need help for Exterior paint color options - brick and cedar shingles Q.

I have a similar dilemma! Can you all help me too? We just added the white framing and trim to all the windows. We cleaned and relaxed some cedar. I need to stain the cedar. I want to get rid of the red color in the brick and I saw a lime wash option. You're going to have to pressure wash that really good to get the green off, and see if the dark almost burned looking part comes off or you're going to end up with a multi-colored house.

If it doesn't, you might think of painting it so it doesn't look splotchy. I love this home, I think black is beautiful on a front door, and with white pillars the front will have some really great curb appeal. If you want the door handle and numbers to stand out more you could go for a chrome finish. I love black hardware though, and placing your numbers on the riser of a step would work well Nick - thank you again for your suggestions!

The oxygen bleach comes as a granular powder that mixes with water. It is non toxic to trees and vegetation and will not remove natural color from the siding. I used double the concentration on mine because I got tired of scrubbing. It said to use 4 to 1 on the Oxy Bleach and I did 2 to 1. I tested on a small area and it worked and really cut down on the elbow grease.

You need a garden pump sprayer and a scrub brush. You let the oxy bleach solution set on the wood for about 15 minutes and then scrub it off. The Deck Brightener we let sit minutes. In the past he had used oil based wood stain products but found the mold and mildew returning within a few years each time. It is a water based wood stain that has synthetic resins which block water but do not feed mold spores.

Synthetic resin based products are the most expensive wood protection products on the market but compared to the value and replacement cost of your wood siding it is a minimal price to pay. If it lasts twice as long it can justify its own costs. Factory finishing all four sides of your wood siding before installation - and sealing the ends during installation - continues to be the single best protective measure you can take towards long term wood siding and decking performance.

Factory finishing continues to be the most economical way to achieve a multi sided finish. A factory finish floods the wood. I have always said it makes sense to use a lower cost finish for multi sided factory coating and then upgrade protection in the field - a 2nd finish coat during installation and then follow-up maintenance coats during the lifetime of your wood siding.

That way you are only paying for the good stuff synthetic resin on the face of the wood where it is needed to prevent mold. If you have a heavily shaded area I would recommend a water based stain as the technology seems to have improved to the point where they are equal to or greater than their oil based contemporaries.

In the case of factory application Sherwin Williams WoodScapes is a reasonably affordable water based stain and can be run through factory machines at a reasonable cost. Then when it is time to clean and maintain your wood you can come back with Defy or another synthetic resin based stain and get your long term protection.

This is maximum value for the wood protection dollar.