10 year old deck...NEVER been stained

[catnip_X07]

Hello,
I have a 10 year old deck that has not ever been stained, nor does it appear to have been sealed. It is in decent shape with no rotting (no direct sunlight). I was wanting to clean and refresh ("brighten") the wood, stain and seal. I was told by a friend that I should not stain the deck as it has not ever been stained. The reason for this was that it might look good now, but soon after the deck will show obvious signs of wear and look un-kept in a shorter time frame. His solution was to clean, brighten and then seal.

Does that make sense? I don't want to have a deck that looks like crud in two years, but would like to have a nice stained deck.

[redwood]

You did not mention what type of wood it is.

You can certainly do those things, but to keep it looking good, you will have to repeat the process.

[catnip_X07]

it is pressure treated wood.

So if I clean, brighten, stain and seal the wood, the deck won't look like it has aged an additional 20 years (assuming the stain/sealing was done perfectly).

[ArtDeck-O]

You can stain a deck at any time although there may be issues with the stain not taking as well in certain spots. For the most part they turn out nicely if you clean them up good first. Be careful not to get the powerwasher too close and be sure and use the correct tip for decking.

[Patiosclotures]

According to my opinion pressure washer is not a solution to clean wood surfaces. High-pressure streams of water cause destruction on sun-damaged wood decks and the ultraviolet rays of the sun break down sealers, and then they start to blast separately the actual wood fibers of the decking.

[Everett Abrams]

When using a pressure washer low pressure should ALWAYS be used. You should use specific wood cleaners, wood strippers, and wood brighteners to perform this work. These solutions allow you to use lower pressures to achieve maximum results. When this is done you should seal the deck which creates a barrier to reduce the wear and degradation caused by the sun and other factors. using a darker pigmented sealer or stain will give you more UV protection. I have seen decks that were never stained or sealed and after 8 years or so are warping and cupping all over. I have seen decks that get consistent care and last 30 years with some repair along the way. Forest Products Laboratory definitely recommends coating the wood with a preservative of some sort.