When you accidentally butter your deck

September 6, 2011 11:27 AM

I have stains on my deck from some spilled butter during a BBQ. How do I get them out?

So I got a little inebriated while grilling and really went to town with the marinading. As a result I got some butter, oil and possibly bbq sauce on the deck. I thought a good rain would wash it off. It did not. So what do I do now?

Here's some pics: HERE

posted by rileyray3000 to home & garden (6 answers total)

Scrub in some Dawn dishwashing soap with no water added and then hose it off. Dawn is miraculous on grease stains.
posted by rtimmel at 11:47 AM on September 6, 2011

Is your deck real wood, or that plastic stuff? If wood, is it treated/sealed or untreated?

If it is plastic or sealed wood, try scrubbing with a deck brush and soap (a squirt of dishwashing soap should do it). Rinse off and see what remains. Repeat if necessary. Or you can use a real degreaser, which should be available at your hardware store.

If it is sealed and the stain won't come out after some elbow grease, you may need to strip, sand, and retreat.

If it is untreated wood...the stain will fade with repeated scrubs, but it will probably always be there.
posted by peachfuzz at 11:50 AM on September 6, 2011

Dawn dish deterg is quite good on grease stains. I use it to pre-treat laundry, and it should work on the desk. Looks a like a good party.
posted by theora55 at 12:01 PM on September 6, 2011

O, just saw rtimmel's comment. My comment should have read: I heartily concur!
posted by theora55 at 12:02 PM on September 6, 2011

I've used Dawn to get grease out of clothing, but what worked even better was a paste made of OxiClean and water. Maybe that would work on wood, too?
posted by runningwithscissors at 12:06 PM on September 6, 2011

some boat cleaners swear by pine-sol for good cleaning with no damage (for teakwood decking).
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:10 PM on September 6, 2011