the mold in trex has nothing to do with pine trees or the weather. it comes from moldy wood chips used in the composite durung manufacture and ther is no treatment short of replacement. Trex denies any wrong doing and do not stand behind thier product. I t will occur even on south facing full sun exposure Decks. It is internl in the product. Donot I Repaet do not ever ever install a trex deck

I am a Trex deck owner. It was installed in Summer of 08. By Summer of 09' our deck was covered in the mold spots. Every piece of every plank of the deck! Totally horrible. I have used Olympic Deck Wash, which did nothing, I returned it! Then I tried Corte Clean, which worked fantastic, but the mold came back in just a few weeks, then I got Expert Chemical Wash, it worked so-so, all the mold came back. I have fought like hell with Trex.... they have just kept recommending cleaners that are costing me a fortune, and even hung up on me! I am sick to my stomach over this deck.... so much money. Their website says... all you have to work on is your tan... what a JOKE! My tan got worked on while I was out on the deck sweating to death scrubbing it 4 times this Summer! What now? Not sure.... so very frustrated!

As a former Trex decking expert for several years of working for one of their "highly esteemed" distributors, I can tell you that Trex Co. is completely aware that their product is flawed and inferior. Trex executives readily agree in private that their product is not perfect.

Far from it, as a Trex Distributor it was my job to explain to unwitting customers that mold isn't covered by the warranty, so their Trex deck needed maintenance - but in three years I discovered two things: 1) Trex composite nearly always molds, and 2) No cleaner will return the deck to 'perfect' and no matter what you do, the mold will come back. I don't work for the distributor any more, obviously, which is good because I would never buy Trex!!!!!

We replaced our deck about two years ago and we have experienced the same problem with the ugly black spots or mold. We have no trees mainly direct sun. I have cleaned the deck twice with a product from Home Depot called "MOLD ARMOR Deck Wash". I can say it has worked well and is easy to apply. Just hook the hose up and spray on. I use a long handle brush to scrub the deck and then wash off. I will try "Corte Clean" next time to compare the two.
I am a little dissatisfied with this issue for a product (TREX) that was claimed to be mostly maintenance free.

PD,
Aiken, S.C.

Hate to inform all of you, but Trex gets a bad rep for mold and mildew....I work in the decking industry and I have a background in biological sciences..... ALL composite decking boards contain wood fibers (unless you buy a completely PVC product).

Wood comes from trees - a natural, living substance. Because it is living, biological spores, such as mold and or mildew, will feed on it. It's nature. The black spots are not actually mold, they are the roots of dead mold that once was thriving in its natural environment - outside. The black residue on your feet is not mold - its dirt! A deck is a horizontal service that is exposed to all elements of nature - moisture, dirt, pollen, heat, wind, and microscopic spores that exists in the outside world - all these factors rest on the surface of the deck.

If you left your car outside for a year and didn't take care of it, it would probably look worse than your deck...so what do you do? You take it to the car wash and clean it. Why is it so impossible to understand that anything left outdoors will get dirty and be exposed to elements of nature? Trex (or any other company) do not say "no maintenance"; they all say "LOW maintenance". And, it is so easy to care for - just apply a cleaner (like Corte-Clean, which is environmentally friendly), some water from your garden hose, let it sit wet for a few minutes, and hose it off...what's the big deal?

Why get so disgusted and annoyed at something that you could be enjoying right now if you would stop your complaining, get off your butts, and either clean it or hire someone to do it for you. If you didn't know that Trex or any other composite decking company, like Evergrain or Fiberon or Timbertech, would get dirty and - omg - be exposed to mold and/or mildew (mildew, btw, is a whitish film on your deck, like what would be left over in your shower if you didn't clean it), then that's your problem that you didn't check it out before purchasing it, or asking your contractor to give you information on the products you purchased!

It's time to get real and stop pointing fingers at manufacturers or suppliers (or contractors!) for your laziness or expectations that are not justified nor practical. We don't live in a sterile environment with everything coated with Purell. Be glad that the composite deck you have doesn't warp, twist, crack, or split - or give your kids splinters - nor does it contain arsenic or copper metal preservatives in pressure treated wood decking. It could be worse. So go enjoy your deck! It's just a little dirt - it won't kill you.

I agree with the other comments, especially that the mold has nothing to do with nearby trees. The Trex mold thrives in the blazing sun. If you read enough online you'll see Trex claims the mold is caused by not keeping the deck clean and that Trex will do nothing about it. My Trex mold is worst in the scoring marks from the simulated grain. The grain might be collecting dirt but I also think the scoring gives the mold access to the Trex wood fibers. Mine gets a bad leopard skin look to it. I tried Corte Clean the other day and it was very effective at removing the stain, more so than Behr deck cleaner from Home Depot. I'm skeptical that the mold will stay away long but we'll see. I see a lot of posts warning against power washing or using bleach-based cleaners as these approaches will actually make the problem worse.

Yes, the trees are not the problem, I bought trex to experiment with, built a nice 8 foot bench, I liked the material so months later re did my deck with trex, about $10,000 worth. Now the bench is FINE and the DECK looks awful. The bench sits on the deck and is un affected by mold..It has to be something in some of their production runs..Thinking about starting a boycott or picketing Lowe's where it was purchased...They have been no help..Spread the word and hurt their sales and maybe Trex will help us out..

I am in the process of replacing my trex deck for the second time!!
The boards seem to be rotting or delaminating!!!

See http://www.millennialliving.com/forum/104

Wrote them an email since I want them to reply either directly to me or here under comments. Stay tuned

We are in the same boat. Our deck is covered in mold (it is mold, your pictures look the exact same as our deck and we have no trees).

My husband took two days to power wash the deck last year and within two weeks it was back, even worse than before. Are there any solutions to this?

We are as frustrated as all heck. My poor kids can't even crawl around on the deck or walk bare foot as the black mold comes off on their feet. There has got to be a solution. Will any sealer work?

That staining you referred to may be the pine tree, but more likely is mold embedded in the product.

I also have a Trex deck about 7 years old. There are no over hanging trees, however we have the same problem many people have with mold stains. Best cleaner = Corte Clean

Glenn

Thanks for your comment. I just thought it was the Pine trees. Not to worry, I haven't touched them.

Your so right, This is exactly why we installed the deck. I wonder if there are other people with similar problems. Wouldn't mind hearing from Trex on this either. Maybe it was a specific batch or lot that caused problems.

Dear Mr. Russo,

Your Trex Distributor lied. The spotting has absolutely nothing to do with with your Pine Trees. Don't cut them down. I installed our Trex deck in the spring of 2006 and have had to clean these horrible spots three times already with special cleaner which is nothing more than bleach. (Great for our environment).

Our deck looks beautiful right after cleaning but wasn't this why we decided to go with composite decking? The upkeep has more than doubled. We have NO trees and indeed had proper installation. This is the other excuse TREX will give you.

We are so unsatisfied and physically exhausted. We use our deck often and it was so important for it to look good. That's why we took on the extra expense. I'm so disgusted, I could cry!

Karen DiMattei
Baltimore, MD
lighthowse1 at verizon dot net