Then I wait five minutes. To clean the area, I use a short-bristle brush that doesn't dig into the wood. Next, I rinse the spot thoroughly with water, to stop the cleaning action, and move on to the next 4-by-4 area.

If there are plants underneath or near the deck, either cover them with plastic or soak them with enough water to neutralize any cleaning solution, even if the manufacturer says the solution won't harm plants.

If you use bleach, wear old clothes. When I had a deck — an outdoor patio with interlocking pavers replaced it when I changed houses — I owned several colorful shirts with bleach stains on the cuffs.

A couple of weeks ago, I replied to a question about painting aluminum siding. Here's an alternative from Brenda Newman of Iowa:

"It is very costly, but it will last 20-plus years. Hire an auto painting. You can have so many different colors. I did see one home that went to a Med Blue, and I don't recommend colors with intensity or depth. The paint was superb, however, it did look kind of like a rectangular chunk of ocean. At any rate, like any good car, you can wax it."

The prep work of cleaning the metal, masking the home, and shooting it down on an optimum day is what pushes the costs up, Newman says. I'd rather pay a solid $4,000-plus and have nice aluminum than an application of vinyl.

The older homes that settle yearly in her area of Iowa don't wear vinyl well, she says. Initially, everything is square and pretty. Every year, storms and settling blow off another piece and the owners are back at the jigsaw puzzle.

(Have questions for Alan J. Heavens? E-mail him at aheavensphillynews.com or write him at The Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia PA 19101.)

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