There seem to be a million websites out there that explain how to restain a deck, but for some reason none of them directly answer my question.

I have a deck that is sorely in need of restaining, and the parts that are more exposed to the elements also have a fair bit of mildew on them. My question is, do I need to remove the mildew before I apply the stain stripper? Many websites seem to imply that you can just strip the stain first, then maybe apply some oxalic acid to balance the pH and that will also remove mildew. But I have a hard time believing the stripper will be effective if I just glom it on over the top of a patch of mildew. At the same time, just thinking about having to apply mildew remover, then stripper, then oxalic acid, then new stain...it makes my head hurt. I'll do all that if I have to though. I'm a big believer in doing it right so you don't have to do it often.