Is “Composite Deck” Maintenance-Free?

This is probably the question asked most often by both our potential and current customers, along with the entire internet. Everyone wants a maintenance-free deck that once it’s installed, you do absolutely nothing and it’ll stay looking just like the first time you stepped on it. This popular belief was pioneered by some of the manufacturers of synthetic decking products, promising a maintenance-free, trouble-free surface that would last for years without lifting a finger.
The synthetic’s promise of a maintenance-free material seemed like the magic formula that came to solve all the troubles of the common wood species for decking. Unfortunately, this isn't the truth!

Composite decking, whether it’s Cap stock or regular composite, has shown that it needs care. Cleaning must be done yearly with special cleaning agents to advert growth of any detrimental agents. This has to be done as soon as anything appears, which can be bi-monthly to every quarter of the year. Perhaps the biggest problem is the fading of these synthetics over time. Unlike wood, once faded, these plastic materials won’t come back to their original color. The promise of a maintenance-free deck is hopeful at best, and deceitful at worst.