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!
Shannon says
cool drinks and taking outdoor photos
Shanda says
My favorite part of summer is the barbecue’s.
Derek Timm says
My favorite part is being able to be outside and enjoy the weather.
paola s says
Pool, Ice Tea, and Family!
April V. says
The best part of summer for me is all of the beautiful greenery and flowers all over the yard.
ruby daniels says
I enjoy cookouts, and spending the day at dollywood with my kids
MJ says
I love the fresh fruit and veggies from the Farmer’s Market.
Lisa Fonseca says
Our favorite summer activities are swimming at the pool and walking at the park.
Deborah Wallin says
My favorite part of summer is hanging out at the pool.
Ann Council says
Fishing and the ocean are my favorite summertime funs.
Maria Iemma says
Summertime is the time to reconnect with all our neighbors. during the very cold winter months we all stay indoors and in the summer everyone is outside and sharing.
Ricky J says
now that is a cleaning machine. Got to get me that!
Sheila Hickmon says
My favorite part of summer is staying up late and playing outside with the kiddos!
Diane W says
My favorite thing about summertime is having family and friends over for BBQ’s
Sherry Conrad says
I love the laid back easy pace.
Jessica W says
I love all the pool time, and time on vacation spent with family
susan smoaks says
My favorite part of summer is going swimming. I would swim everyday if i could. I love the water!
carol says
I like that my son can sleep in if he wants, and I enjoy hanging outside with the neighbors after work, drinking iced tea.
Linda G. says
we love going to the beach
Paula Tavernie says
My fave is all the family BBQs!!!!!
Buddy Garrett says
Vacation is my favorite part.
Linda Lansford says
I love the pool
s riches says
I like the fireworks on the 4th of July.
Janice Whitaker says
Spending time with my daughter Emily at the pool
mary gardner says
warm weather and outdoor activities!
Sheryl says
I love the warm temperatures and longer days of sunlight.
Wendy S says
I love how it stays light out for so long and love all of the fruits that are in season.
Courtnie says
I love going camping!
Harmony B says
going to the beach is my favorite part of summertime
Debra Guillen says
fav part of summer is spending time with my kids and BBQing
Kari Flores says
The hot weather.
Sandy V. says
My favorite thing about summer is swimming.
DanV says
I like the vacations
cassandra says
our family likes gardening and going swimming!
Kelly R. says
My favorite part of summertime is going to all the festivals and carnivals.
Ashey B says
I love magic erasers they will clean almost anything and with seven people in out house and always hosting get togethers these are great for clean up
krysta says
Going to waterparks!
Tabathia B says
Being able to enjoy the beach and movies in the park
Ashley Morrow says
My favorite part of summer is all the free time I have to relax and visit with my family.
Carrie says
Picnics & barbeques
tina reynolds says
its so hard for just one thing I love grilling my hubby is a good cook, just playing out in the backyard with the kids and we go hiking a lot more. So I guess the weather is my favorite thing since it makes all that more possible.
Diana C says
My favorite part of summer is going to the pool.
Diana C
Sarah Hall says
Having my grandsons come and stay with me and taking them to the pool.
Amy T. says
My favorite part of Summer is going to the beach!!
Marcia Goss says
My favorite part of summertime is swimming in our pool.
Priscilla says
BEACH!
ryan Curtis says
Used to be Summercamp when I was growing up
Crystal F says
Spending the weekends on a softball field. My daughter plays travel softball so we spend up to 14 hours a day on a field and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’m exhausted on Monday but would give it up for anything. lol thank you!
Carol says
My favorite part of Summertime is baseball.
Jessica To says
I love the warm weather in the summer.