How to get your patio ready for spring

Sunset, April, 1996 by Bill Crosby

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."