Fence is not just a structure; it is something that can enhance the aesthetics of your home and garden. When maintained well, it can provide excellent security and become one of the best features your home can have.
The amount of time and effort you will have to put in, in order to maintain your fence, depends on the type of fencing material that you have chosen. The maintenance procedure for a wire mesh fence will be very different from that of a wooden fence. In fact, a wooden fence would require a lot of maintenance.
Here are a few maintenance steps you can follow if you have a wooden fence:
Power Washing
Step #1: Removing Caked-on Gunk
Power washing may not remove certain kinds of grime like caked-on gunk. You will have to take a wire brush and scrub it all off. Make sure you do it gently since wire brushes can damage the paint on your fence if used roughly.
Step #2: Rinsing
The power washing fence needs some preparation. You will have to spray down the fence first using your garden hose. Make sure the pressure is between medium and high so that you can get some dirt off the surface.
Step #3: Getting Prepared
Your next step will be to pressure wash your wooden fence. But if the pressure is too much you might end up damaging your fence. So make sure the psi is well below 1500. You can tip your pressure washer at about 25 degrees so that it will start fanning out the water.
Step #4: Cleaning your Wooden Fence
Make sure you are standing about two feet away from the fence. Now start pressure washing your fence using long and even strokes. Start spraying from right to left and continue till there is no dirt coming off the fence. It is not advisable to point the power washer at a single point for long. This can cause damage to your wooden fence.
Hand-washing your Wooden Fence
Step #1: Preparing the Fence
Just like pressure washing, handwashing your fence also requires you to prepare the fence. Use a metal brush to scrub off the entire caked-on gunk which looks like mud. And then start rinsing the fence using a garden hose.
Step #2: Applying Oxygenated Bleach
Take a large paintbrush and start applying oxygenated bleach to your fence. You will have to first mix it with some water as per the directions printed on the container. Once you are done applying the bleach, leave it to sit for about fifteen minutes or so. And then scrub it all off using a plastic bristle scrub brush. This will remove all the stains from your fence.
Step #3: Rinsing the Fence
The last step is to rinse your wooden fence using a garden hose. Make sure you clear away all the dirt from the surface.
If there is any moss or mildew sticking to the fence even after cleaning it, add a half cup of vinegar to a gallon of water and apply the mixture using a sponge. After 15 minutes scrub it off using a plastic bristle sponge and then use your garden hose to rinse it away. If there are any spots, they should get cleared while rinsing.
