How Often Should You Get Your Boat Dock Cleaned?

Whether you’ve chosen to invest time and money in building a permanent dock construction on your lakefront property or a floating dock that perfectly suits your seasonal needs, you’ll need to engage in some maintenance to get the most lifespan and use-value out of this water entrance platform. This entails taking measures all year long to keep your system secure and clean. So, how often should you get your boat dock cleaned? Although you can maintain your dock on your own, you’ll be glad to know that hiring a professional to service your dock is an alternative. To ensure that your dock remains in good working order throughout the summer and beyond, it is still best to keep an eye on its condition. For your convenience, we’ve provided some cleaning and safety advice for docks.

Don’t Leave Components Lying Around

You understand the importance of keeping living rooms and play areas clutter-free if you’ve ever tripped over a baseball bat in the backyard or stepped on a LEGO brick while wearing only your socks. Your boat dock operates under the same fundamental tenet. It can be tempting to leave toys and equipment like flippers, snorkels, life jackets, and other stuff laying around on your dock if it is frequently used during the summer. However, these objects may present slipping or tripping risks, which could result in accidents involving falls into the water or other harm. In other words, it’s preferable to keep debris off your dock.

Make Your Dock Properly Lit

It’s crucial to keep your dock secure for your loved ones, lake visitors, and other dock users. By adding lighting, you may make your dock noticeable in low light. This makes it possible to use the dock area safely after the sun goes down and ensures that sailors can see it and steer clear of it in the early morning or late at night. Dock lighting improves safety for those utilizing your dock and other lake users, whether you enjoy watching the sunset while lounging in deck chairs on the dock, you get up early for morning swims, or there is simply a lot of boating traffic on the water day and night.

Schedule Dock Inspections

Regular oil and filter changes for your automobile are handled by a technician, and you hire experts to maintain your HVAC system, clean your gutters, and take care of other maintenance chores around the house. Regular inspections, upkeep, and repairs are also necessary to keep your boat dock in good condition. To avoid serious damage or deterioration, be sure to arrange expert dock servicing annually, or even seasonally, depending on the weather. By doing this, you can be sure that your dock will always be sturdy and secure for your loved ones to use.

Winterize Your Docks

You should be ready for inclement weather whether you own waterfront property in a frigid, northern climate or reside in an area that occasionally experiences storm activity in order to prevent damage and maintain your dock safe for future usage. For floating docks, it’s frequently advisable to do seasonal dock removal (and do a reinstallation in the spring). You might wish to install a de-icer or dock bubbler for permanent docks in icy regions in order to circulate water and prevent the area around the pilings from freezing. Some of the most frequent types of harm will be avoided by doing this.

Pressure Washing Your Docks

The accumulation of various types of dirt and debris on docks over time can degrade finishes or create slipping risks. Pressure cleaning your dock on a regular basis is the greatest method to protect it. A permanent dock should typically be pressure washed every one to two years, though this may vary depending on how dirty the pier becomes. Washing requirements might be less frequent if you have a floating dock that you keep during the winter. Regular resealing is advised to prevent warping, rot, and other damage for wooden dock surfaces that may be influenced by sun, wind, and water over time.

Steps To Properly Wash Your Boat Dock

You should first have a solid understanding of the project before starting. It always takes longer than you expect to clean wood. How long has it been since it was last cleaned thoroughly? Do you own the tools necessary to sand, clean, and seal the wood? It takes a lot of work to do it correctly. The struggle is only half won when it looks beautiful. It’s crucial to use the proper sealing component to offer protection that lasts a long time. If you have ever cleaned your dock, you are familiar with the process.

Inspect The Condition

The first thing to do is to perform an inspection. This include walking the dock and inspecting it for any loose or rotten boards, protruding nail or screw heads, and structural problems. The dock’s total square footage will be calculated to see if it appears to be structurally sound (apart from a few boards that require replacement). Included in this are the decking, boat house trim, both side rails, and any other exposed wood, such as fascia above or below. The square footage will help in estimating the amount of sealer that will be needed to buy and how long it should take the specialists to clean it.

Loose Boards

Your professional dock cleaning company will schedule a completion date and place an order for the sealing product after they have received your approval. When the cleaning company arrive, the first thing they will do is replace any missing or damaged boards and tighten any loose screws or nails. By finishing this task first, they will have a clear slate on which to begin the pressure washing.

Pressure Washing

The operation then moves on to pressure cleaning the wood. Since most pressure-treated wood is fragile and prone to splinters, this type of job requires extreme care. The objective is to completely clean the dock while preserving the wood’s structural integrity to the greatest extent possible. The most labor-intensive and meticulous work will be required if the dock includes hand rails with spindles or blisters in between. It takes practice to fit between each rail without breaking them, thus hiring a specialist is truly the best option. Between amateur and professional labor, there is a distinction to be made.

Sanding

The following step is the most crucial to ensure that everything is done correctly but is one that most contractors and homeowners frequently overlook. After pressure washing, sanding specific areas of the wood will remove burs caused by the high pressure and get the wood ready for the sealant. You don’t want a visitor to run their fingers over the dock railing and end up with a splinter, let’s face it. It would be terrible. When the appropriate quantity of sanding isn’t done, it also doesn’t look as great in addition to the risk that is created. Paying close attention to these particulars will enable you to achieve the clean and sealed dock you are ultimately after.

Sealing

Next comes the sealing. This following step is for you if you haven’t painted your dock. The next step is to match the paint colors if your dock already has paint on it. Then, start painting. Your best bet will be to use exterior-grade, acrylic-based paint. It is advised to purchase a suitable paint for your wood type and if you are changing the seal or sealing the wood for the first time. Although the price is slightly greater than what you would pay at your neighborhood hardware shop, the quality is much higher. And if used properly, the product has an usual lifespan of five years.

Conclusion

Boat dock cleaning is very important part of preserving your dock’s life. You wouldn’t want to change the whole dock since it’s a costly procedure. Boat docks are to to be cleaned with a pressure washer for the best results. A wood dock requires a good pressure wash with cleaning solution that is suitable for the wood type. There are other ways to can clean your boat docks yourself like using baking soda, but it is advised to get professionals to do the job. Pressure treated lumber gives a clean look to your whole setup. A professional boat dock cleaning company will properly clean your boat dock keeping all the prerequisites in mind. FootHills Dock Repair is a boat dock maintenance company that focuses on delivering best quality work. Our goal is to give your boat dock a clean and sleek look by properly taking care of its cleaning process. We have been cleaning boat docks for years now and that has given us enough experience to conduct an elaborate job. Contact us today to get other services like cable lubrication, boat lift motor replacement, and many more!

How Often Should You Get Your Boat Dock Cleaned?