WARNING! Using multiple non-compatible cleaning chemicals, one after the other, to clean specific stains from porous composites, which can soak into composites & release poisonous toxic fumes, that are more poisonous than chlorine bleach alone! DO NOT DO MIX CLEANING CHEMICALS!! POISONOUS TOXIC FUMES WILL VERY LIKELY RESULT FROM POROUS COMPOSITES. Read & follow any chemical cleaning products label directions, especially WARNINGS & DISCLOSURES!
Do you think using non-compatible chemicals, one after the other, to clean porous (soaks into) composites could release toxic poisonous gas? Commonly recommended dish-washing soaps, sodium hypochlorite, oxalic acid, oil stain removers, the “forget” products, sealers & most other chemical based products can & generally do release poisonous toxic fumes when used, one after the another, to clean porous (soaks into) composites, as they are non-compatible. Any person, especially composite manufacturer employees that have tested and/or used these chemicals in order to recommend them, would be recklessly foolish to not carefully read & follow any products label directions, or OSHA guidelines, especially when using specific chemicals and/or recommending products to the uneducated general public! Using multiple cleaning chemicals to clean specific stains from composites isn’t just more expensive, it could be dangerous, if not deadly!
Corte-Clean® cleaning a heavily mold stained ChoiceDek® which was previously exacerbated by the dangerous routine use of ammonia based dish-washing soap & sodium hypochlorite, as once recommended by the manufacturer. WARNING! DANGER! DO NOT DO THIS! IT RELEASES POISON! Notice how the mold stains are no longer spotting, but have grown together, completely colonizing the boards. This is a worst case scenario & shows scientifically that sodium hypochlorite exacerbates mold, especially when mixed with ammonia!
Breathing sodium hypochlorite alone isn’t smart & why the “CLOROX® OUTDOOR BLEACH CLEANER” label directions state “Not recommended for persons with heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema or obstructive lung disease.” Hopefully, you haven’t experienced the toxic, poisonous out-gassing when sodium hypochlorite is mixed with other commonly recommended chemicals, as we unfortunately have, when proving Corte*Clean® alongside multiple other cleaning products, for AERT, the manufacturer of ChoiceDek®. The poison generally smells like burnt rubber or plastic, generally resulting in temporary loss of smell/taste & a terrible nauseating chemical headache, that can last for hours or days! Breathing this toxic gas can lead to long term debilitating health issues, which are obviously worse than breathing chlorine alone, especially with the young, the elderly, or those that suffer from breathing conditions; such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema. All known retailers & composite manufacturers have all been made well aware of these facts, since approximately 2006, but continue to ignore the risks they recommend to their customers & employees who routinely follow multiple cleaning chemical recommendations; to clean specific stains.
Lowe’s® ChoiceDek® Premium where sodium hypochlorite was dangerously recommended to be mixed with an ammonia-based surfactant in their literature & routinely used until completely colonized with mold (left). Corte-Clean® cleaning the mold stains (right).
Composite manufacturers generally start out by recommending a “soap”, in the form of a “dish-washing detergent” for cleaning “oil & grease” and/or “tannin’s” even though one of the largest dish-washing detergents label directions states “It is a Federal law violation to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling” while stating it is for “general dishwashing”, to clean “dishware”, such as “dishes” of “greasy surfaces” including “kitchen surfaces” such as “countertops, stoves and related surfaces”, of “bacteria” such as “staph aureus, salmonella and E. coli” but nothing about wood & plastic composite decks & fences of “oil & grease” or “tannin’s”? Two of the other largest dish-washing detergent label directions state, of which the first is recommended by brand name by at least one composite manufacturer, states “DO NOT ADD BLEACH!”, while the other states “Do not use with chlorine bleach to avoid irritating fumes”, such as using a sodium hypochlorite based product, after using these products to clean porous composites! When this generally almost always fails in cleaning composites, composite manufacturers commonly recommend “sodium hypochlorite” or chlorine “BLEACH” based product, against OSHA recommendations, to clean “mold & mildew” which at least one deck cleaning products label directions states “PRECAUTIONS: Do not mix with any other chemicals as hazardous fumes may result”. They state this because “soaps”, such as a commonly recommended “dishwashing detergent” generally contain non-compatible surfactant such as ammonia! OSHA states “Never mix chlorine bleach solution with other cleaning solutions or detergents that contain ammonia because this may produce highly toxic vapors and create a hazard to workers.” and “CLOROX® OUTDOOR BLEACH CLEANER” label directions states “Do not mix with any other household chemicals including deck cleaners, wood bleaches, wood restorers, rust removers, wood or masonry finishes, toilet bowl cleaners, acids or products containing ammonia. To do this will release hazardous gases.” Composite manufacturers then generally recommend a “deck cleaner” known as a “brightener” that “contain oxalic acid” for “rust stains” be used as a “rust remover”, when composite owners complain about visible rust stains the sodium hypochlorite has caused in composites, commonly around screws or nails, even though at least one of these products label directions state “Do not mix with any other products, especially those containing chlorine or bleach.”, such as any product that contains “sodium hypochlorite”! Composite manufacturers then generally recommend a specific brand of “oil stain remover” which states on its label directions “do not mix with other chemicals” & “let it dry from a liquid to a powder, and sweep it up.”, which generally never thoroughly cleans it from within the pours of most composites. Some then recommend a product designed to not be rinsed & state “Do not mix {this product} with detergents or other chemicals”, such as a “deck wash containing a detergent”, commonly sold in all known “sodium hypochlorite” based products, but sometimes they recommend this product be used first.
Homemade Composite Deck Cleaners
The only thing generally more dangerous than using multiple cleaning chemical products, to clean composites of specific stains, is those that choose to intentionally mix chemicals in an attempt to make a homemade composite deck cleaner. This is especially true with those that illegally mix chlorine bleach or other sodium hypochlorite-based products with any other chemical(s) or products not clearly stated on this biocides label directions, then use it for purposes not stated on its label directions.
Those that attempt to make their own composite cleaners not only risk damaging composites & the structures supporting them but poisoning themselves, as at least one composite & chemical manufacturer has unethically recommended in the past & numerous websites continue to do.
Lowe’s® ChoiceDek® Premium Composite Post Caps – Before & after Corte-Clean®
