Tips to Clean Your Boat Dock. You have invested in a beautiful boat dock and you want to preserve its beauty for years. One way to do this is by cleaning it every other day if not every day. If you do not clean your floating dock regularly, grime, dirt, and other outdoor elements can accumulate on it.
Cleaning boat docks on a regular basis is crucial for keeping them looking as good as new. If you are guilty of not cleaning your floating dock in a while, it is never too late to start now.
Follow this step-by-step guide to clean dock floats or boat docks:
1. Examine Your Boat Dock Prior to Cleaning It
Before you start to clean your boat dock, inspect its structure. Look out for loose boards, rotten boards, and screws or nails sticking up, along with any other problems that could reduce the stability of your boat dock.
If you uncover any of these issues, fix them. Perform all repairs needed before you start to clean your dock. Inspect the railings, dock accessories, or ladders as well, noting down every issue that needs to be repaired before cleaning it. You may also uncover repairs that might need the expertise of a professional.
2. Use a Pressure Washer to Clean Your Boat Dock
If you have never used a pressure washer before, it is not wise to use it now. If you do not know how to use water pressure, you can cause damage to your boat dock. The type of material your floating dock is made of also affects the cleaning method you use. Let us look at a few here:
- For pressure-treated lumber, use a pressure washer to clean every year or every two years. Use an environmentally-friendly cleaning solution with a stiff brush to clean pressure-treated lumber.
- For tropical hardwood, use pressure water with a stiff brush every year or every two years to clean it. Also, seal and stain the hardwood to maintain its appearance and increase its lifespan.
- For composite decking, you do not need to clean it as often as you would need to a wood decking. You will need to clean it every other year and you can use a pressure washer to remove dirt, grime, and algae.
- For aluminum docks, you can use pressure water without causing damage to it. You can use an environmentally-friendly cleaning product to remove stains.
3. Do Not Use Cleaning Products with Ammonia and Phosphorus
Cleaning products containing ammonia and phosphorus can damage the environment by entering the lake and endangering both human and marine life. When searching for a cleaning product, buy one that is safe for the environment and does not contain these two chemicals.
If your boat dock is long gone and beyond cleaning, why don’t you upgrade your boat dock? You can contact EZ Dock Texas at 800-654-8168 to come and install your boat dock. They install boating docks for people living in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Call for a quote today!