Face it, one of the best times of the year is the summer and why not enjoy it on a clean patio! Of course, the amount of cleaning your patio will require depends on where you live, amount of dust, whether you live under trees, or other factors. The first step is to move all of your patio furniture off the deck. After you've moved to furniture off, sort through the various items and determine which is in good shape and what needs to be replaced. If you have a chaise lounge chair, then possibly the patio chair cushions may need recovering or simply need to be replaced. How about the wrought iron patio furniture? Maybe this needs cleaning and touching up with the coat of paint. Solid hardwood patio furniture such as teak patio furniture can be restored and refinished. Don't be too quick to throw it all out as there is a good portion of it that may be restorable.

If you have wrought iron patio furniture or other items that are heavy, you may want to find someone to give you a hand, as they can be too cumbersome for one person.The next step is to thoroughly sweep the patio, and this is done by purchasing a good strong broom made for sweeping driveways, outdoor patios, etc. If you have a stone deck surface, get some large garbage bags and pull up any weeds coming through the stones. Weeds can cause significant damage to a lot of outdoor areas and additional damage can be done when water gets under the tiles and starts eroding the sandy soil which supports them.

When it comes to planters and potted plants, trim the perennials and pull out last year's annuals and determine if there are any that you want to throw out. You can replant them elsewhere in your garden if you don't want them, or give them away. After you've done all the preparation, how to the stones look? If your patio is 20 or more years in age, some of them may be broken or uneven and will need to be repaired. Of course, the other alternative is to hire someone to clean your patio for you. You may be able to find a contact at your local hardware or building supply store that does this type of work. You may even be able to find someone that can provide you references, which would be better. Remember that if you've decided to do it yourself, your wicker patio furniture or wrought iron patio furniture may not withstand harsh chemicals too well when it comes time to wash them, so using a mild cleaner will save their finish. But most of all have a great summer!

By Terry Price- Turn your patio into a Shangrila with some decorative and colorful patio furniture cushions: http://www.patiofurnitureitems.com/patio-furniture-cushions.html or how about having a look at a double chaise lounge chair! http://www.patiofurnitureitems.com/patio-double-chaise-lounge.html