Cedar
Patio Furniture
How To Get Your Patio Ready For Spring
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> How To
Get Your Patio Ready For Spring
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Spring-cleaning doesn't stop at the back door. Patio furniture,
grills, decks, and siding need tending to as much as the inside
of your house does.
Is there a way to make my old patio furniture look
new again?
June LaBarre, who has been restoring old patio furniture at her
company, Furniture Lady, since 1972, says most kinds of patio furniture
can be nicely refurbished, and you really see the savings in metal-frame
furniture. "With pieces like Brown Jordan or Tropitone, you'll
save up to 50 percent of the cost of new, and with less expensive
brands, you can upgrade the paint and strapping."
Manufacturers can usually recommend a refurbisher in your area,
but if you want to try restoring patio furniture yourself, LaBarre
has this advice:
Clean metal frames with a car-rubbing compound, then protect
them with a clear car wax. Don't use Turtle Wax - it's green.
Clean vinyl strapping and vinyl-coated fabrics with a solution
of laundry detergent and water. A lot of times you'll find a brown
spotting on vinyl that looks like a rust. It's caused by a reaction
between the UV rays of the sun and the vinyl. You can clean most
of it off, but you can never stop it once it starts. Air pollution
can cause it.
On redwood or cedar, exterior penetrating oil will keep the
wood from drying out.
With wrought iron, the most important thing is to clean the
rust off with naval jelly, then touch it up with paint. Bare iron
or steel will rust; the rust patch will grow just like the vinyl
rest."
LaBarre's store, in Menlo Park, California, always advises customers
to keep cushions inside when they're not in use. During the warm
season, when they're out regularly, hose them off and apply a vinyl
protectant once a month. "Patio stores sell vinyl cleaners
and protectants, which are also really good for all resin furniture,"
says LaBarre.
I pulled the cover off my gas grill and found a moldy mess. What
should I do to get it back up to snuff?
George Speicher, president of grill manufacturer Pacific Gas Specialties
in Irvine, California, says spring-cleaning a grill is mostly commonsense
stuff. "Clean everything with hot, soapy water or a degreaser
[such as 409, Fantastik, or Simple Green]; clean rocks or tiles
with a wire brush, or replace them; and make sure to clean the tubes
leading to the burners, so they're clear of spiderwebs."
Speicher also offers a couple of tricks you might not have thought
of. "If your grill has oxidized and gotten that whitish color,
a light coat of cooking oil will restore the black. And for really
dirty, greasy porcelain cooking grates that can't take heavy scraping
and rubbing, try putting them and a cup of ammonia in a plastic
bag and letting them sit out in the sun for a day. The sun helps
the ammonia work. Then clean them thoroughly with a soapy solution.
The crud should just fall right off."
I was thinking of renting a power washer to really
clean up the outside of my house. What should I know?
Pressure washers are great for getting the mildew off cedar shakes,
decks, and exterior walls, says Larry Davidson, co-owner of the
nine Zodiac Rentals Incorporated in the Denver area. "Pressure
washers have replaced scrapers for home painters - they're what
most pros use. They'll blow the mildew right off siding, and you
can get your wood looking brand-new. But when you're cleaning your
roof, make sure you go the same direction as the rain - don't spray
up, or you'll blow the shakes right off."
For most house projects, Davidson recommends a cold-water washer,
which operates at a maximum of 2,500 pounds per square inch (compared
with the 15 to 60 psi of a garden hose). "If your wood is old
and soft, be careful about the pressure and your choice of tips.
A 'zero tip' will literally eat the wood. The rental yard should
supply you with the correct tip for the job you're doing."
Davidson says power washers have about 50 feet of hose, and you
can get wand extensions that will reach up to the eaves on a one-story
house. "They're very easy to transport, and you should be able
to do any household job in the 2-hour minimum rental time."
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