Winterizing Your Backyard

Before winter finally finds its way, the last warm rays of the sun in autumn should be used to prepare your house and garden for the winter. Even simple external actions can be done to winterize your property, preventing many massive, costly damages that can occur. 

Here are some tips to help winterize the outside of your home and make it ready for a winter wonderland:

-       Give your trees and shrubs a makeover. Turning your backyard into a virtual winterized picture of perfection means that you need to pay attention to your trees and shrubs.

-       Always keep your small pond open throughout the winter. With the colder temperatures approaching fast, it is important to ensure your pond never freezes over, especially if there are fish in the pond. Using an aerator pump will pump air throughout the pond to make sure your fish live. Its main purpose might be to keep your fish alive through air but the bubbles that it produces will ensure that the pond isn’t settled enough to freeze.

-        Make sure your patio furniture is also taken care of for the cold months. If you have patio or any other type of garden furniture, you will know exactly how much maintenance means to the life of your outdoor furniture. Before the cold hits, take everything that is washable and start cleaning as well as making sure that the sun can dry them afterwards. If you have plastic patio furniture, you can just take a power-washer to it. The best way to ensure your furniture lasts is to invest in patio furniture covers, as these will help keep snow and moisture off of the materials.

-       Brightening up the area with potted plants can make a huge difference in the overall look of your patio or yard.

With a few simple steps your backyard can be ready for the cold and ready to make it through to spring with minimal damage. The trick is to get everything done before the cold sets in. Good luck!

Restore your Chaise Lounge and Patio Chairs with these Easy Tips

 If you are the proud owner of patio furniture or chaise lounge sets, you should be well aware of how to take care of it. It would be a good idea to invest in chaise lounge covers as well, but here are those tips:

Before you start on your task you are going to need some rubber gloves, a wire brush and a scouring pad.

For Aluminum Furniture:

-       Put your gloves on and scrub the furniture with the wire brush to loosen up any rust, if present.  Use the scouring pad on the furniture.
-       Take out the scouring pad and throw some aluminum brightener or kerosene on it and start scrubbing hard to loosen up any dirt or rust.
-       Dry the furniture off.
-       Wax.

Fabric Furniture:

-       Your chaise lounge should be ready to go at this point. Have a bucket of water and detergent ready. The solution shouldn’t be too strong.
-       Make sure that you vacuum the lounge first.
-       Take a cloth or brush and make it wet by dipping it into the soapy water.
-       Start cleaning your chaise lounge.
-       Now rinse it off with a clean, wet cloth and air dry the lounge.

Whitening Furniture

-       Set up a bleach mix by making 1 gallon water, ¾ cup of bleach and 1 tablespoon of detergent into a bucket.
-       Put on your gloves and start applying the mixture.
-       Let it sit for about 10 minutes and then rinse.

Plastic Furniture

-       Wash furniture off using detergent and water. A simple light mix will do.
-       Scrub the furniture down with a firm bristled brush using the soapy water.
-       Rinse off and let it dry outdoors.

Cleaning Wood Patio Furniture

Consumers who care about value and economical living should seriously consider cleaning their wooden patio furniture rather than replacing it. Of course, if the cleaning job does not suffice, then perhaps you should consider buying new items. But be sure to try cleaning first, and you may find that you can save hundreds of dollars simply by doing a bit of scrubbing for a short period of time. If done properly, the cleaning job will have your old patio furniture looking fresh again.

1. Start the process with a dry brush, removing all the dust and dirt that has built up over the season. In addition, do not forget those cobwebs and scratches! If some of the dents or scrapes are deep, or especially disfiguring, take a bit of sandpaper and remove them.
2. Hose the furniture down. See to it that you remove any soil or grime that was left from the first step by using a good amount of water pressure.
3. Now you will need a clean cloth soaked in soapy water for the most important part of the cleaning regimen. Physically scrub off any remaining dirt, dust, or mold. In the case of mold, you might have to add a bit of bleach to some water and use a brush, making certain to rinse off the bleach solution after doing so.
4. Do a final rinse with the hose. You might want to use the pressure nozzle again, but don’t get too enthusiastic or you will damage the furniture. At this stage, you are both rinsing off the soap and blasting away any remaining dirt.
5. Wipe all surfaces down with a clean, dry, soft cloth. 
6. Put the furniture in the open air to finish drying. This last step also allows any bleach odor to evaporate.
7. Finally, you can add oil or a stain to the furniture to ready it for the next season.

For the future, patio furniture covers and patio chair covers are a good choice for those who care about the long-term health and durability of their garden furniture. Besides protecting them from the elements, the covers add a sense of style to your yard and can help reduce the amount of deep cleaning needed for your furniture.