How to Clean Outdoor Surfaces using Oxygen Cleaners

RON HAZELTON:
The other day I was taking a walk around outside when I noticed that the house looked kind of well, dingy. At first I thought I might need a paint job but I thought, well, I'm gonna try cleaning this, but I knew this job would require more than just an ordinary cleaning solution.

The other day at the home improvement center, I spotted a new oxygen-based cleaner designed for exterior surfaces and I decided to try it out. This product comes as a powder and is most effective when it's mixed with warm or hot water.

Once it's added to water, the ingredients are activated and the material should be used within about an hour. The fastest and easiest way to apply this cleaner is by pouring it into a clean garden sprayer and pressurizing the tank.

Now to start my test, I'm choosing this section of painted wall that's badly discolored and stained. I've pre-wet the siding using a spray setting on the hose nozzle. While the surface is still wet, I begin applying the cleaner. I let the solution set for a few minutes and then agitate it a bit using a scrub brush.

Now heavy scrubbing isn't necessary here. I give the cleaner another few minutes to do its work, then rinse. You can see the dirt being released from the surface and flowing down the wall.
[ONGOING MUSIC]
Next, I try the solution on the back deck and get the same results. I was curious how this cleaner might work on unpainted wood. So I put together a test section of weather decking, applied the solution, did a light scrubbing and rinsed.

Now this is the decking before and here it is afterward. This fiberglass bulkhead door is discolored with stubborn stains and dirt that really haven't responded to conventional cleaners. Now let's see what an oxygen-based product can do here.

Not bad. Metal and vinyl lawn furniture like this is bound to collect grime after a season of use. Now getting it clean has always been a bit of a chore. So I'll put this new cleaner to the test one more time. Well, quite an improvement.

I even tried the product on my stone patio. Now while I can get good results with a power washer, this oxygen cleaner takes off the dirt but leaves the patina on the stone, an effect that I personally like. My final test is on this roof.

Oxygen-based cleaners work by actually reacting with dirt, turning it into a sort of ash that can be simply rinsed away. Whew! [LAUGHS] Well, you know, that's pretty amazing. In many of these cases, I thought I was in for a repainting job when all I really needed was a good cleaning.