Advice to clean/bleach teak steps in bathroom?

[bobmct]

Our master bathroom has a larger whirlpool tub build on a platform which uses teak wood for the decking and steps. Over time, due to the placement of bath mats, wet items, grandchildren, etc. the teak has developed dark areas/spots.

We are now at the point where we need to do a thorough cleaning and refinishing of this wood to bring it back as close as possible to what it could and should look like.

All teak treatments I've read about refer to "hosing" it off after its done its work. Unfortunately that is not possible in an upstairs bathroom.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what product and/or technique we could use to clean this wood and hopefully reduce and/or eliminate these stains?

Thanks all -

[willshak]

on 7/21/2008 2:19 PM bobmct said the following:

In the Navy, we used 'holy stones' and water to clean the teak deck. Actually, it was a sandstone brick with a depression in the top that accepted a wooden pole to push the stone around without getting down on hands and knees. It was just a way to wet sand the wood. Pic available here

[salty]

If the teak has turned dark in places and you want the former look of fresher teak, you pretty much HAVE to use the teak brighteners that require flushing with a hose afterwards. They are acidic, so they may also damage other surfaces in your bathroom. The best thing would be to remove the wood and renew it outdoors. Yes, that will be a big job, but that's what it will take. Going forward, you'll be a lot more careful how you treat the wood so you never have to face this again. The other option would be to paint the wood some solid color to hide the weathered teak.

[ransley]

Try some laundry bleach on dark areas.

[Phisherman]

You may make it worse with the bleach. I'd sand it, always with the grain. Some deep stains may be there to stay, and teak is expensive to replace.

[ransley]

The bleach will just kill the mold like oxcilic acid but neutralises easier.