I've bleached my sleeper wall :(

mjwwiggy

Yes, I applied bleach onto my timber sleeper wall segments, in a crazed attempt to remove the green and restore some brightness to my garden. I understand this could be misconstrued as madness, and that might be true, but I blame my actions on this recent bout of nice weather - giving me the green finger curse - it is not my normal behaviour.

Plainly enough, the bleach worked and removed all traces of moss/algae/gunge and transformed my timber walls, overnight, leaving behind a timber stripped of any colour, ready to treat with some kind of stain (recommendations for suitable treatments also welcome).

My question is, as the timber was originally pressure treated, to protect against rot etc, will the bleach have stripped away this protection or lessened it somehow?

Obelixx

No idea but next time, use a pressure washer - no harmful chemicals!

nutcutlet

I wonder what it's done to the plants and the soil inhabitants

hogweed

No it won't have. The treatment is throughout the whole of the wood. Personally I would just let it age gracefully.

raisingirl

The pressure treatment should be into the wood and not just on the surface, so it ought to be ok. but if you use something like 'osmo oil' to put some colour back (if you want to), that will also give some surface protection without sealing the wood. It's better not to use a hard varnish with 'green' wood, as the moisture in the wood needs to dry out, rather than be sealed in. If you've bought reclaimed timber, it'll already be seasoned, so you can put a more waterproof finish on if you want to. Personally, as others have said, I'd let it do it's own thing, but it is just a matter of choice, really.

Kweegly

Better with a pressure washer for cleaning. If you want a natural look back I would apply a few coats of natural oil.