Dripping sap and PVC

Q. I live on a canal in Merrick and have a waterfront deck in my backyard. Last year, tired of painting and replacing rotten wood each year, I had a PVC deck installed. It’s beautiful and virtually maintenance-free. However, I’ve encountered an unanticipated problem. I have a large pine tree hanging over the deck that drips sap onto it. This wasn’t such a problem with wood, since I could just power-wash and scrape it and then repaint it. But with PVC, it’s a real problem, since it can’t be scraped or the grain will be removed. Power-washing does a so-so job at best. I had my gardener trim the tree back, but now it’s dripping more than ever, and I haven’t been able to find an effective way to remove the drippings without damaging the PVC. The deck was a large investment, and I’m beginning to think that my only option is to remove the tree, which I’d hate to do. Is there a way to effectively remove sap drippings from a PVC deck without damaging it?

A. Your sticky dilemma is shared by many, from car owners whose driveways and cars are speckled with sap to homeowners’ roofs, siding, outdoor furniture … the list goes on and on. I first wondered how you didn’t anticipate the problem, since it must have been equally messy on the old deck boards before you put the new deck in. The tree tried protecting itself from injury when its limbs were cut, a lesson you learned the hard way.

Living among pine trees as a kid in Orlando, Fla., I used to get the gooey sap on my hands and clothes climbing trees, and I remember what my mother went through trying to get the stains out. Fortunately, my dad was a chemist and figured out that denatured alcohol did the trick, although kerosene was also applied. Later we discovered Goo Gone. I consulted Timber-Tech Decking’s website and see that they recommend using Krud Kutter and Simple Green. Power-washing is still part of the removal process but scraper tools should be used only at a very slight angle, and only to remove gobs during the first pass. Digging into the decking will cause permanent cut marks.