Over the winter, our back patio turned into a grime-fest to rival the dump truck bumper from Toy Story 3 where Lotso was tied up at the end. Somehow springtime slipped by so fast that I have not had a chance to get out there and clean up the pollen and dirt and dog hair yet.
On Friday night my husband got started pressure washing the pool deck while I set to work on cleaning the grill, windowsills and patio furniture.
Magic Erasers are kinda like that Bill Wither’s song from the ‘70’s.
You just keep on using them until you use them up.
And that’s exactly what I did to several of these magical pads in the course of a few hours. I used them right up. I scrubbed down our patio table and chairs. Then, I tackled the windows. Check out my windowsills. They were so gross. And now? Clean as a whistle, baby.
But the true test? That would be our barbecue grill. This sucker was NASTY. It had years of dirt and pollen and grill-caked grossness on it. I saved this job for Saturday, since I knew it was gonna be a big one. Check out how bad it was before I started cleaning:
Here is how I got it so clean: I rolled the grill out onto the asphalt driveway ( so it wouldn’t stain the concrete with all the sludge that came off of it during cleaning) and set to work cleaning it.
Just sprayed on the Outdoor Pro Cleaner, let it sit for a minute, then wiped off with a magic eraser and rinsed with a hose. Most off the grime came off with that minimal amount of effort, but there were a few really tough stains that needed some extra help. I brought out the steel wool and sprayed more of the Outdoor Pro cleaner on it.
With a bit of elbow grease and steel wool, I was able to remove all of the major stains. Then I cleaned the grates and burner covers with a wire brush and more of the Outdoor Pro, being sure to rinse, rinse, rinse with water. I hosed out the interior and removed all the black sludge that was sitting in the bottom. After that I let it air dry completely in the sun before I reassembled it to keep it from rusting on the inside.
Then I wiped down the entire outside of the grill with a heavy coating of olive oil and buffed it with a few Bounty paper towels. The results speak for themselves! Pretty impressive!
I took our grill from looking like it was bound for the trash dump to looking nearly brand new.
Seriously, can you believe that? There are a few rust spots that aren’t gonna come off no matter how much elbow grease I put into it, but still… it looks a million times better than it did. That Mr. Clean really knows his stuff. I was pretty blown away by it! Talk about the perfect Father’s Day gift. What better way to show your man that you love him than to give his filthy grill a bath and olive oil massage?
My planters got some fresh flowers from the Lowes garden center. Hopefully soon the sweet potato vine will be spilling out all the way to the ground and the bougainvillea vines will crawl all the way up the fence.
You probably haven’t noticed, but we got a new pool liner earlier in the year. The original one was WAY past it’s expiration date, and I love how dark blue the new liner is. Since we switched from Baquacil to chlorine a few summers ago we’ve been buying our pool supplies at Lowes, also. It’s been a huge money saver for us over the local pool supply store.
I’m also a huge fern fan in the summer, and Lowes has a great selection of those. Check out this pretty one my inlaws gave me for Mother’s Day. I stuck him inside of my vintage Carnation milk crate on my back steps.
Our back porch is now ready for a party! Who wants to come over for a cookout and a swim?
If you want to get your back patio ready for outdoor entertaining this summer, too, I have a little surprise to help out with that!
I had this Spring Cleaning Checklist of all the things that needed to be done out there, so I’ve assembled them into a free printable in case you could use it, too.
Click here to download a Patio Spring Cleaning Checklist.
See? I told you it was a lot!
Love it! It looks great – heading to the beach is my favorite thing about summer!
My favorite part about summer is EVERYTHING! After the long dark days of winter, I’m ready for some sunlight, warm temps and being able to open windows and walk barefooted any time I want. Summertime? Bring it on!
Hey, Beth! My favorite part of summer is our family all being together for vacation.
super posting . . . but more importantly gorgeous back yard. Wait! maybe I can Magic Eraser me a pool? nahhhh. ;~)
Oh man, I need to do a bunch of cleaning too! I just started a job, so finding the energy to do much when I get home is the hard part. Maybe the fun cleaning supplies would help! 🙂
Maybe I should look at the Rafflecopter more closely before commenting! My favorite part of summer is how light and cheery it is in the morning. It makes waking up in the morning much nicer.
My favorite thing about summer is not having school!
Beth, your back porch area is beautiful! I know you all enjoy it so much in the summer. I just bought a pack of Magic Erasers to work on my bathroom tile and grout. Wish me luck!
I love summer food and festivities 🙂
Camping is my favorite party of the summer.
I get to spend a lot of time with my grandchildren in the summer, that is the best part!
I love the sunshine and warm weather.
My favorite thing about summer is wonderful weather and going to Myrtle Beach, SC
My favorite part of summer is vacationing with my family.
More get togethers with family and friends over barbecues
Your BBQ transformation is amazing! I’m sure it took a lot of elbow grease, but definitely worth all the hard work 🙂 Doesn’t it feel great to have your patio all freshened up and ready for summer? 🙂
I very badly need to take some magic erasers to my front porch. And, okay, my back porch too. Ugh. I really hate those projects but they make such a difference.
My favorite part of summer? The pool. If I could just convince Ryan to put one in my backyard, I’d be a happy girl.
Farmers markets are my favorite part of summertime. I joined a CSA that starts next week, and I am super excited. Now, my husband things summer is all about cleaning and sprucing up. He’s pretty boring.
My favorite part of the summer is going on vacation with my family!
growing veggies!
My favorite part of summer is growing and picking tomatoes and fresh berries, grilling outdoors and visiting local Farmer’s Markets.
my favorite part of summer is a nap on a warm quiet afternoon with a gentle breeze… in the hammock is even better!
Can’t wait to get my grill clean and find me a new cover for it 🙂 Love the pool and I would love to just jump on in!
I love being able to sit around the fire in the evening and toast marshmallows with my family.
Gardening
My favorite thing about summer time is having more time with my children. 🙂 Thank you.
homemade iced tea
My favorite parts of summertime are cookouts, bonfires & the beach! Ty!
My favorite part of summer is beach weather
My favorite thing about summer is to spend time outdoors with my family, kids love playing outside and go to the park
I like the warmer weather so I can spend more time outside with my family, going to the beach and on nature walks.
I love being able to open the windows and air out the house!
I love going to yard sales in the summer.
My favorite thing about summer is not having to get up early to drive my sons to school each day
longer days and beach time is my favorite part of summer!
My favorite part of Summer is just being outdoors in the warm fresh air & having BBQ’s!
I love going to the beach
I love hosting the family for an old fashioned summer time BBQ
FAV part of summer is the warm weather and traveling
I like that the days stay lighter longer
my favorite part of summertime is taking the kids to the pool for the day with a packed cooler..!! Thanks for this giveaway!
my faviorte part is being able to go swimming
My favorite part of summer is after work on a warm evening when friends gather at my home for an impromptu campfire and we catch up on life. It always makes me feel like time slows down and we have all the time in the world to just be with one another.
hitting the beach!
The nice weather! We go to the zoo a lot in the summertime, my daughters fave place.
I love not having a schedule so we can swim when we want to.
going to the beach
i like the weather
I love the warm nights
My fave part of summer is all the warm sunny days and enjoying more time outdoors