Easily Restore Your Wooden Fence With This Household Cleaner

Whether it's a short decorative design or a 6-foot tall expensive privacy fence, a wooden fence can improve the appearance of your house, make your backyard more enjoyable and secure, and be a big selling point when the time comes to move. These features are also incredibly resilient and can last for decades without losing their looks or functionality. However, this is only true if they're properly maintained. Obviously, repairs should be performed as needed, but one of the best ways to preserve the look and functionality of your fence is to keep it clean. The surface should be pressure washed on a medium setting once per year, but to eliminate stains from mold, bird feces, or similar stubborn culprits and to restore the original color of the wood, apply a simple solution of chlorine bleach and water with a hand sprayer.

Chlorine bleach is a harsh chemical cleaner that's typically used to prevent algae from growing in swimming pools. When diluted with water, this product can be incredibly effective across numerous applications around your home and yard. However, even when diluted, it can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs. Always take precautions whenever handling or cleaning with bleach. Put on a mask and goggles, don gloves, and wear old clothes with long sleeves and pants to protect your skin. In addition, you should cover any plants or outdoor decor around the fence with a plastic tarp before applying so they don't get damaged.

While a wooden fence could improve the appearance of your backyard space, this is only true if it is kept free of persistent stains from mold or other substances. This is where chlorine bleach can come in handy. However, keep in mind that the bleach mixture will not kill any mold on untreated wood because it's porous and the mold can live deep inside it. If you've already killed off the mold and the stains remain, the diluted bleach will do the trick to remove those pesky marks and make your fence look brand-new again.

In a hand-powered pump sprayer, add a mixture of a gallon of water with a quart bottle of chlorine bleach, stirring or shaking well to fully blend the two. Moving from the top down, wet your fence with your garden hose, but stop 6 to 12 inches above the ground to prevent the splashback of mud, leaves, or grass clippings. Using the pump sprayer, spray your bleach mixture along the fence in the same manner — from the top down, leaving no fewer than 6 inches of unwashed fence above the ground. Let the product sit on the wooden slats for about five minutes and spot clean areas with a scrub brush if necessary. The effects of the chlorine bleach should immediately be visible, as the surface should look brighter and stain-free. Finally, rinse off the fence with your garden hose to thoroughly remove the solution.