10 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Pool & Yard

Like everyone else, the coronavirus quarantine has us spending most of our time at home these days. While that sounds a bit daunting and restrictive at first, a small change in perspective turns this situation into a great opportunity for cleaning and organizing our outdoor spaces. Not to mention it’s spring, and with that comes a new beginning, a fresh start, a time to prep things for the coming months of sunshine and fresh air.

We get it, cleaning your backyard after a long winter, when the future is uncertain can feel overwhelming. With that in mind, here are 10 tips for spring cleaning both your pool and your yard. Because if the coronavirus is good for anything, it’s good for getting us outside on the daily.

10 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Pool and Yard

1. Start small and de-grease your grill.

Remove the grill grates and the flame shield (if you have one). Using warm soapy water and a wire brush, brush the grates, the flame shield and the inside of your grill. Rinse everything with clean water and dry with a cloth. Heat the grill for at least 10 minutes to burn off any additional grime or soap scum.

2. Clean patio furniture.

Wash metal and plastic furniture with warm soapy water, and rinse with a hose. Vacuum wicker or rattan furniture to remove loose dirt and pollen from the crevices and then wipe it down with a soft cloth, dipped in warm soapy water. Let all furniture dry completely in the sun.

3. Wash deck surfaces.

Unattended items left on a deck for an extended period of time trap moisture and allow mold to grow. To remove mildew stains, mix 2 cups of liquid chlorine bleach and 2 1/2 tablespoons of powdered laundry detergent into 1 1/2 quarts of warm water. Saturate the area with the solution and allow it to set for 10 to 15 minutes. Scrub the stains with a stiff broom and rinse thoroughly.

4. Remove stains on your patio.

After moving everything off of your patio, sweep away debris and hose it down. Mix together 1 cup baking soda and 2 cups distilled white vinegar. Spread this solution over your concrete patio with a mop. Let it sit for 30 minutes and use a nylon-bristled scrub brush to scrub it clean.

5. Clear out flower beds and pots to give your flowers room to grow.

Rake fallen leaves, dig up dead plants and shovel out last year’s mulch.

6. Straighten up your lawn.

Remove all twigs and branches, clean up pet messes and rake up dead leaves. Be sure to rake when the soil is dry, as raking when it’s wet can tear out healthy grass.

7. Re-seed bare patches.

If pet messes, heavy traffic or harsh weather have left you with bare spots in your grass, sprinkle each patch with a combination of soil, grass seed and fertilizer. Keep the dirt moist until the seeds sprout into grass.

8. Prune your trees, shrubs and perennials.

Snip ornamental grasses as close to the ground as possible. Cut back perennials to about four inches tall. Prune injured foliage on evergreens. Remove dead and crowded stems from flowering trees and shape them however you’d like.

9. Open your pool.

If you have a pool and don’t know how to properly open it, or are unsure if buying pool chemicals falls within the rules of a quarantine, call your local Pool Scouts and schedule an opening. They’re operating business as usual and taking extra precautions to keep both you and your pool safe and healthy.

10. Organize your shed and garage.

Throw away old and broken tools, install shelves for your gardening supplies and donate the holiday decorations you no longer use. Organizing these spaces will leave you feeling 10 pounds lighter and set you up for endless hours of relaxing outside.

Sure, the uncertainty of this quarantine is stressful, but who says you can’t make the most of it? And if prepping your pool and yard for better times ahead isn’t making the most of it, then we don’t know what is. Need your pool opened now? Call us today at 844-775-2742, and we’ll make it cannonball-ready.