Fences catch everything: sprinkler water, lawn clippings, mud splash and shade from the neighbor's trees. Within a few seasons a cedar fence in Lake County is green at the bottom, black in the shade and gray on top. Cleaning it restores the wood tone and, if you are planning to stain, it is the mandatory first step.
We clean fences with a percarbonate wood cleaner and a low-pressure rinse, the same way we clean decks. A pressure washer wand at 3,000 PSI held close to a fence board will leave permanent stripe marks and splinter the surface. We have been called to fix a lot of those.
A fence that has never been cleaned will not take stain evenly, and a fence that was blasted with high pressure will take stain in blotches wherever the surface was torn. Cleaning is not glamorous, but it is what decides how the stain looks. If your fence just needs to stop being green, cleaning alone is a good yearly maintenance job.
We do a lot of this work in Gurnee, Mundelein and Indian Creek, and the central Lake County towns like Vernon Hills and Green Oaks keep us busy through the season. See every town on the areas page, or jump to Fence cleaning in Mettawa.
Fence cleaning usually pairs with one of these.
Text a photo of your deck or fence and get a number back. We answer Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.
Text (224) 944-8652The north side of an east-west fence. Percarbonate cleaner and a scrub at the base.
Dead growth in the grain. The cleaner lifts it; the brightener removes the shadow.
Permanent stripes in the wood. Cleaning cannot remove them, but a semi-solid stain hides them.
An oxalic brightener removes iron stains.
Mineral deposits and green growth in one band. Cleaned, then the sprinkler head gets adjusted.
See the pricing page for how we quote, or text photos and get a real number.
Our season runs roughly late April through October. Stain needs the wood dry, temperatures between about 50 and 90 degrees, and 24 to 48 hours without rain afterward. In Lake County that means spring and early fall are the best windows, with midsummer jobs scheduled around heat and pop-up storms. We book spring work early because the good weeks fill fast.
After staining, keep furniture and foot traffic off for 24 to 48 hours, longer if it is humid. Rinse pollen and leaves off through the season instead of letting them sit and hold moisture. Move planters and rugs periodically so they do not leave shadows. Rinse the deck each spring with a hose, and when water stops beading on the horizontal boards, that is the signal for a maintenance coat. Done on that schedule, a deck never needs stripping again.
Only at low pressure with a wide tip, after a cleaner has done the work. High pressure splinters fence boards and leaves wand marks. We rinse, we do not blast.
The cleaners we use are oxygen-based and break down into soda ash and water. We wet plants before and rinse after, and have not had issues with lawns or perennials.
Once a year in shaded or sprinklered yards, every two years in sunny ones. Cleaning yearly also extends the life of the stain.
Yes, with a different cleaner and even lower pressure. Vinyl fences mostly need algae and dirt removed and come up well.
Every Lake County town has its own fence cleaning page.
Text a photo of the wood and your town. Quotes usually come back the same day.
Text a photo of your deck or fence and get a number back. We answer Mon–Sat 7am–7pm.
Lake CountyFence & Deck Restoration