July 6, 2006
Patio Furniture Cleanup
Getting ready for your first outdoor get-together but your patio furniture and deck took a beating this winter? 3 On Your Side’s Jim Donovan says before the guests come over, a quick and easy clean-up is necessary. Have the elements made your backyard deck, furniture and grill lose their luster?
Have the elements made your backyard deck, furniture and grill lose their luster? If so, good housekeeping has some suggestions, starting with the deck.
“The deck really takes a beating in the winter snow, rain, sleet. It’s important to make it look new again,” said Nate Benforado, a tester at Good Housekeeping Institute. First, brush off all the debris. Then toss on the cleaner.
Good Housekeeping tested three brands that work with water.
Oxiclean Miracle Foam ($ 4.99) performed the best. And it also does a great job on concrete as well.
Now, how about your outdoor furniture? Good Housekeeping tested three specialty cleaners and found that CLR Outdoor Furniture Cleaner ($3.99) cleaned up the best.
Nate Benforado, Good Housekeeping Institute: "Just with a couple of passes, it’s already gone."
For the metal and glass items, Good Housekeeping recommends a liquid car wax (Super Hardshell Liquid Wax, Turtle Wax, $3 - $4).
Nate Benforado, Good Housekeeping Institute: "Automotive wax is great on cars, helps protect the finish. But it also works on any smooth non-porous surface. So for metal or resin, or even glass in your backyard, it will leave a nice waxy coating to protect from the elements, and actually give it a nice shine-a nice sheen."
Finally, don’t forget the grill. You’ll probably find a little mess left over from last season, and Good Housekeeping likes how Dawn Power Dissolver ($2.49) did the job of cleaning up.
To prevent build-up, spray the grates with some non-stick spray before you fire it up.
If you have extra-tough grease stains on your wood deck, spray the mess with oven cleaner. Then wait a few minutes and rinse.
For grease stains on concrete, soak up any liquid immediately, because the longer you wait, the deeper the stain will set.
Spread the word
del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Ask BlinkList blogmarks Google Ma.gnolia Netscape Rojo Simpy Spurl StumbleUpon Technorati Windows Live Yahoo!
1 Comment on Patio Furniture Cleanup »
June 24, 2008
polywood furniture @ 4:32 pm:
A good tip to apply water sealer after the winter is the following. I learned this trick from a contracter friend of mine. Buy a cheap pump sprayer from your local home and garden store. It’s usually used for insecticide but also works for water sealer. Once you apply the thin mist over your entire deck you just dispose of the container. Much quicker than brushing on water sealer on the deck and works just as well.