FLYING LESSONS: 101

The temperature has warmed up, the grass is green, the skies are blue—and it's time to get your spring-cleaning underway. You don't have to spend all your time indoors this spring—enjoy the weather and take your spring-cleaning outside! Have fun uncovering that summer furniture and preparing the outside of your home for summer entertaining. Cleaning your outdoor furniture and accessories is a breeze with great timesaving tips from Home Made Simple. But first get out your garden hose because this little piece of equipment will be put to good use.

Outdoor Basics
If you have a porch or deck, start by sweeping away leaves, dirt, and twigs that have accumulated over the winter. You may want to spray your porch or deck with a garden hose if the debris has piled up significantly or is difficult to remove.

Once your porch is clean, tackle your outdoor furniture. If you left your plastic furniture out over the winter, it's probably pretty sullied by now. To restore it to pre-winter condition, apply Mr. Clean Multi-Purpose Cleaner with a damp cloth. Let the solution sit on the furniture for about 20 minutes or so, and start scrubbing! Then rinse with a garden hose for best results.

If wicker is your furniture of choice, the cleaning process is slightly different. Nowadays, there are many types of wicker furniture—and different ways to clean them. If you aren't sure which type of wicker you have, just use a soft cloth to gently remove dust. Spot-clean with a solution of Dawn and water. The water should be just slightly soapy, so a good ratio is one tablespoon of Dawn to a gallon of water. If you do a lot of spot-cleaning, make sure your wicker furniture is completely dry before you sit on it again, otherwise damage could occur.

If the cushions for your outdoor furniture are dirty, we can help. Fill a spray bottle with water, leaving just enough room to add one tablespoon of laundry detergent. Shake gently. Spray solution on dirt spots and wipe away with a cloth. Let the cushions dry completely before using. You might also want to spray cushions with your favorite Febreze scent for a spring refresher.

With spring in the air, you'll soon be excited to have a cookout. To make sure your equipment is up to par, start with your grill's cooking grate. Remove it and spray with Dawn Power Dissolver to remove last year's residue. Set it aside and spray the bottom of the grill pan. After you've let Dawn Power Dissolver sit for about a half hour, wipe the grime away. On a particularly dirty grill, you may want to use a wire brush. If you have a gas grill, make sure the burners and holes are clean. If necessary, use a small piece of wire to clean them out.

The Screening Process
Another great outside cleaning project involves your window screens. Some people remove the screens from windows and store them for the winter. After the winter storage, you might notice dirt, dust, or even insects on your screens. Of course, you'll want to clean them before you put them back in place. To clean screens, lay them flat on a hard surface (put a cloth underneath to avoid scratching the frames) and spray them down with a garden hose. If you clean the screens in your yard, make sure to remove any rocks or debris from underneath the screens, as these can stretch or bend them (and we still recommend placing a drop cloth
underneath). When you've knocked away most of the dirt with the hose, scrub the screens using a little bit of Mr. Clean Multi-Purpose Cleaner. Remember to scrub lightly, however, because hard scrubbing might damage or stretch the screen. Rinse the screens using the garden hose, tap off excess water, and the screens are ready for spring.

Pressure Point
Lastly, if you're feeling really ambitious and want to clean the exterior of your house, look into a pressure washer, also called a power pressure washer or power washer. A pressure washer is usually powered by an electric or gas motor, and has an injection system that releases a special cleaning solution. Most have adjustable spray nozzles to tackle different tasks. Pressure washers also work well for other outside cleaning tasks, but make sure to read the manufacturer's instructions before operating.

There you have it. The outside of your home is now ready for summer guests. Now get back inside and finish any leftover indoor spring-cleaning!

Important Announcement The MSN Groups service will close in February 2009. You can move your group to Multiply, MSN’s partner for online groups. Learn More
FLYING LESSONS: 101	[email protected]