Patio season is here! It’s time for lunches outside, beers after work in the setting sun, or hosting outdoor events for your business. But before you can get your patio up and running, you’ve got to give it a thorough cleaning.
Cleaning your outdoor patio is more involved than just running the hose over everything and drying it in the sunshine. If you want your customers or employees to enjoy your patio space, you need to put some real TLC effort into cleaning it up after winter. Here’s what we recommend.
- Wash everything with a pressure washer. The first thing you need to know about pressure washing is that you can’t get the same effect from a hose. Wood and concrete surfaces benefit from the high impact of a pressure washer. It helps remove mold, dirt, grime, and all the icky stuff stuck on the surface after a long winter. Before you get started, remove all your furniture and things first. Then, use a pressure wash cleaner mixture or a 50/50 mixture of water and bleach. Follow safety practices like wearing eye and face protection or hire a professional team to do the job for you.
- Show your deck some love. After cleaning your wood deck off with the pressure washer, you may want to clean a wood deck with a specialized wood cleaner. Then once it’s sparkling clean, a new coat of stain or protectant will protect the wood. Then throughout the patio season, make sure to regularly sweep and spot clean the deck to avoid stains and damage.
- Wash your outdoor furniture. Before you set out your patio chairs, tables, or other accessories, give everything a good wash. You can use a patio cleaner, the pressure washer (be careful!), or a big old bucket solution of 50/50 warm water and bleach. Remember to wear safety protection and switch out your cleaning products as you work because they will collect a lot of dirt!
- Get your outdoor rugs cleaned. Before you unroll your outdoor rugs, take them to get cleaned. It’s a big job, so it’s best to let professionals take care of it. If you do decide to attempt it yourself, follow this great tutorial.
- Debug your lights and clean the grill. Before you string up your outdoor lights or set them out, make sure you remove the graveyard of dead bugs that may have accumulated from last summer. Also, make sure to give your grill a thorough cleaning too. These are dirty jobs, but they’ve got to be done!
Another option that can help your patio furniture and area stays cleaner this summer is to get a MicroShield 360 treatment. This antimicrobial coating is sprayed using electrostatic technology and bonds to the treated surface, preventing bacteria growth on the surface. It’s a great way to ensure that your patio furniture, tables, and chairs are a little extra clean, even if they are outside. Call our team to schedule a consultation for a patio clean-up or a MicroShield 360 treatment for your business.
