One of my customers has asked me to soft wash this tennis court. The surface is sound and in very good condition. I have never done one of these. Does anyone have experience cleaning these? The perimeter is green and the actual playing surface is done in blue. I'm curious what strength mix to use and also wondering if the mix can possibly bleach the coloring in the surface. Any pointers would be helpful.
I'd have to go back and check it, AC. I believe the color is blended into the surface material and then poured on and spread with squeegees. What should I be looking for?
AC Lockyer said
Jan 4, 2013
That it is a durable surface that can hold up to a 3 to 4% solution.
AC
Patrick Clark said
Jan 4, 2013
Yeah 3% solution and use a push broom when it puddles up this will save on chem as well :)
Danny Cronauer said
Jan 4, 2013
I have seen pictures, maybe Ray from spray wash ? He showed some great tennis court results.
AC Lockyer said
Jan 4, 2013
Jason,
If it is a durable surface like concrete, cool decking (pool deck texture) or alike these would be the steps.
1. Blow all debris off the surface with an electric leaf blower. 2. Agitate areas of caked on dirt etc with a push broom so they can be blown off as well. 3. Make sure there is NO encroaching grass or weeds. Have the landscaper edge the court before cleaning if needed. 4. Make sure the surface is prepped for chemical from edge to edge. 5. Apply a through coat of 3% soft washing solution to the entire deck. 6. Keep the high spots from drying out by moving the chemical around with a push broom. 7. Bump up strength to 4% if surface can tolerate and IF it is needed to achieve a clean result. 8. Repeat coats as needed not to exceed three treatments per visit. 9. If the court doesn't come completely clean within three treatments then give it a few days and maybe a rain before retreating again. 10. IMPORTANT...If the deck is so dirty that three coats doesn't do it, DO NOT use a pressure washer to rinse the court. If the funk was that bad it definitely ate through the surface and pressure washing WILL remove texture, color and painted lines.
Hope these ten steps help.
AC
Jason Heath said
Jan 4, 2013
Thanks, Guys! I really appreciate the help. I've got this one scheduled for next week. We've cleaned a lot of surfaces, but this will be the first tennis court. It should go very well now that I have heard from the voices of experience.
Mike Laskowski said
Jan 5, 2013
The picture looks like an acryllic surface and I've found 2% with greenwash works perfect you just need to watch out for pooling and quick evaporation (not likely a problem this time of year). Greenwash is the key but the one side effect is areas where pooling occurs it will leave a white residue border of the puddle that will eventually disappear with rains. The upside to tell the customer is that the white residue is temporary compared to powerwashing that leaves permanent lines every foot or so. Also acryllic tennis court surfaces contain a certain amount of grit that effects the speed of the ball and when cleaned with pressure you are accelerating the degradation of the surface and you are changing the play quality of the surface by eroding away the grit that is supposed to be there. 2% with greenwash will take care of this but you may need to apply multiple coats where the areas are more heavily effected. I would avoid high ratios of bleach because the acryllic surfaces contain a paint that you would not want to fade with level concentrations of bleach. Good Luck!
Ray Burke said
Jan 5, 2013
Ditto what AC said.... Also stress the importance of a good rain rinse! I've done several, green, blue, red, tan... All with great results. It might take a solid hour of dwell time. Somewhere on this site I have posted pics of courts I have done. Sorry, on my smartphone e at a job right now and can't search.
Dan Dykstra said
Jan 7, 2013
Are tennis courts something to go after, every public park in Michigan has tennis courts and they are all dirty. What kind of time do you figure to do a tennis court.
One of my customers has asked me to soft wash this tennis court. The surface is sound and in very good condition. I have never done one of these. Does anyone have experience cleaning these? The perimeter is green and the actual playing surface is done in blue. I'm curious what strength mix to use and also wondering if the mix can possibly bleach the coloring in the surface. Any pointers would be helpful.
Is it concrete or another type of surface?
AC
I'd have to go back and check it, AC. I believe the color is blended into the surface material and then poured on and spread with squeegees. What should I be looking for?
AC
Yeah 3% solution and use a push broom when it puddles up this will save on chem as well :)
If it is a durable surface like concrete, cool decking (pool deck texture) or alike these would be the steps.
1. Blow all debris off the surface with an electric leaf blower.
2. Agitate areas of caked on dirt etc with a push broom so they can be blown off as well.
3. Make sure there is NO encroaching grass or weeds. Have the landscaper edge the court before cleaning if needed.
4. Make sure the surface is prepped for chemical from edge to edge.
5. Apply a through coat of 3% soft washing solution to the entire deck.
6. Keep the high spots from drying out by moving the chemical around with a push broom.
7. Bump up strength to 4% if surface can tolerate and IF it is needed to achieve a clean result.
8. Repeat coats as needed not to exceed three treatments per visit.
9. If the court doesn't come completely clean within three treatments then give it a few days and maybe a rain before retreating again.
10. IMPORTANT...If the deck is so dirty that three coats doesn't do it, DO NOT use a pressure washer to rinse the court. If the funk was that bad it definitely ate through the surface and pressure washing WILL remove texture, color and painted lines.
Hope these ten steps help.
AC
The picture looks like an acryllic surface and I've found 2% with greenwash works perfect you just need to watch out for pooling and quick evaporation (not likely a problem this time of year). Greenwash is the key but the one side effect is areas where pooling occurs it will leave a white residue border of the puddle that will eventually disappear with rains. The upside to tell the customer is that the white residue is temporary compared to powerwashing that leaves permanent lines every foot or so. Also acryllic tennis court surfaces contain a certain amount of grit that effects the speed of the ball and when cleaned with pressure you are accelerating the degradation of the surface and you are changing the play quality of the surface by eroding away the grit that is supposed to be there. 2% with greenwash will take care of this but you may need to apply multiple coats where the areas are more heavily effected. I would avoid high ratios of bleach because the acryllic surfaces contain a paint that you would not want to fade with level concentrations of bleach. Good Luck!