# How to clean a log cabin



## Suzie Kepes (Jul 16, 2009)

We have a family camp,the log cabin has turned black over the years and needs to be cleaned and oiled. How do I get the logs too look natural again?:wink:


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## joan smith (Jul 15, 2009)

Hi! another log home owner. Go to perma-***** webpage, they help me with mine very knowledgable over the phone help as well everything from stripping to carpenter bee spraying If this home is too black to benefit from their log washes they also make strippers but in the past I have used bleach mixed with water (about 1 part bleach to 4 parts water) spray on, wait till it works and rinse well, let dry well (couple dry days) then use a borate mixed with glycol to treat the wood (perma ***** sells one ) wait about a week for the borate to throughly penetrate, then stain. Perma-***** will send you all the info you will need for free. Just get on their mailing list. I use ortho-klor to spray for carpenter bees you can pick this up at lowes (now called home defense I think)Spray in the srping and after heavy rains throughout season.


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## md2lgyk (Jan 6, 2009)

There's a relatively new process to clean the logs. It's called corn cob blasting. Basically the same as sandblasting but using ground-up corn cobs instead. That's what I intend to do in a few weeks on my log home. It can be a DIY process, but here's one company that does it in my area:

www.seedirtrun.com


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## Spencer12 (Jul 18, 2009)

Suzie Kepes said:


> We have a family camp,the log cabin has turned black over the years and needs to be cleaned and oiled. How do I get the logs too look natural again?:wink:


Use a TSP and Bleach mix. TSP can be found at your local hardware store. One Table spoon of TSP to one gallon of bleach. Spray on with power washer. This will help clean any stains and kill any mold on the wood. Most black spots are mold and not dirt. So you need to kill it first. Let dry and spray off any residue and than re-stain...


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## Termite (Apr 13, 2008)

Spencer12 said:


> Use a TSP and Bleach mix. TSP can be found at your local hardware store. One Table spoon of TSP to one gallon of bleach. Spray on with power washer. This will help clean any stains and kill any mold on the wood. Most black spots are mold and not dirt. So you need to kill it first. Let dry and spray off any residue and than re-stain...


The TSP is a good plan, but using non-diluted bleach will cause nothing but damage. If you have a means of diluting it in the aforementioned power washer that would work, or apply it with a sprayer (diluted) and scrub it.


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