Best way to clean and protect my yard deck without a power washer?

[commander bunnypants]

I hate using a power washer, I was thinking oxyclean and some stiff bristle brooms. Then staining and protecting using paint brushes.

Any ideas?

DDQM

[randr]

1. What kind of material it made of? Is it in the open sun?

[commander bunnypants]

3. Just regular wood-treated I am sure

It is in the sun. The previous owners built it awhile back

DDQM

[randr]

6. Every product promises one thing or another

They almost all have Linseed oil with various chemicals designed to protect against UV, mold, and to help the oil to penetrate the wood.
If the wood is already aged and dry you should go for straight linseed oil, which is also the cheapest solution. Depending on your solar exposure and elevation you may consider a product that is mostly linseed with a UV inhibitor. In my experience, over 30 years dealing with decks in Colorado, it is best to accept an annual application of the straight oil. The extension of time between maintenance applications gained with the expensive brands is not worth it and many of them leave patches of discoloration that retard future applications.

[GOPisEvil]

2. You might try mixing some bleach with water and then scrubbing.

The bleach will kill any bacteria, fungi or other crapola on your deck.

[DarkPhenyx]

4. Behr Corproation makes something for you.

Comes in a green plastic jug and is a deck cleaner stripper. You mop it on, let it sit, then scrub it off. After that you let it dry and stain it.

I recommend going with a tinted stain, one of the transparents if you prefer, as it gives you a longer life and better protection. Clear finishes just don't last long enough for me.

I used to work at HD in the paint department.

[wysimdnwyg]

5. Power washers are a no-no on wood decks

If you use a power washer on bare wood, it will get fuzzy. Use a deck wash - found in any home center like Lowes, HD, Ace, etc - with a manual pump sprayer (they kind you pump a few times, and it sprays for a few minutes). I used that on mine last year, and it worked better than I ever hoped. And no scrubbing required. I did have to go over a couple of spots twice, but it's so easy, I didn't mind at all.

When you get a sealer (with stain or not), get the best one you can afford. With something like that, you DEFINITELY get what you pay for.