“Oxalic acid” based products, known as “deck brighteners”, commonly recommended by composite manufacturers to “remove rust” and/or “tannin stains”, in addition to “mold and mildew”, should ring a bell?
They have chosen to recommend this acid based chemical even though at least one chemical manufacturer of an oxalic acid-based product states on its label directions “states DO NOT USE ON” “METALS”, but claim their product is for “decking”, where structural metal decking hardware is generally used? You really should ask any chemical manufacturer of “deck” cleaning product(s) if the product(s) they manufacturer & sell are corrosive to structural metal & safe to clean a “deck”, before ever purchasing & using these products, regardless or who recommends & sells them.
Corroded metal decking joist hanger & nails that need to be expensively replaced before under load from people & it fails!
Irreversible corrosion to structural metal, caused by the recommendation & those profiting from corrosive to metal deck cleaning products, especially when recommended be used on a routine basis, can lead to extremely laborious & expensive early replacement when corrosion is noticed. Do you think retailers, chemical & composite manufacturers who recommend & sell these products are going to pay to replace the irreversible corrosion damage they have caused by recommending and/or profiting from the sale & use of corrosive to metal decking hardware cleaning chemicals? Why any chemical manufacturer would produce corrosive to metal deck cleaners, or composite manufacturers would recommend multiple corrosive to metal deck cleaners, or retailers would sell corrosive to metal deck cleaners, especially when oxalic acid & sodium hypochlorite are non-compatible poisonous chemicals makes no sense.
Corroded structural metal I-Beams under composite decking as recommended & sold by at least one major composite manufacturer who routinely recommends sodium hypochlorite & oxalic acid for routine “Spring and Fall” cleaning!
Failure to replace structural metal, when corrosion is noticed, can lead to structural failure, when generally under load from the increased weight of people! This is inexcusable, especially if people are injured or worse when it could have been totally avoided by retailers, composite & chemical manufacturers. This is currently the #1 Ticking Time Bomb in the decking industry most retailers, chemical & composite manufacturers & owners continue to ignore?
