As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, people will turn to spending more time in their gardens, patios and backyards. Here are the top five tips on how to get your outdoors ready so that you can make the most of the warmer weather.

1. Prepare The Patio

The patio is an important part of the home, and acts as an extension of your living space particularly during the warmer months, so it should be given the same amount of attention as the interior. After you’ve cleared away the clutter, use a specialist outdoor cleaning product such as Jeyes Fluid, which can be used on a multitude of surfaces such as patios, paths, driveways, decking areas and more. It can also be used to help clean drains, limescale and rust on outdoor tables, killing up to 99.9% of germs. Use every couple of months when the dirt and algae start to build up again. 

2. Preserve Your Plants

Taking care of your plants is an easy way to spruce up your outdoor area. Remove any dead plants that have remained over winter and spring. If you have a garden, give your hedges a trim and cut any overhanging tree parts to let light in and open up the space. Move on to pulling out weeds and cutting down the grass. Rather than discarding cracked or broken pottery, try upcycling pieces into other handy items, like plant labels or used as mulch in plant pots to help prevent the soil drying out. Any intact but weary-looking pots can be given new life by painting them pastel colours with whatever captivating designs and patterns you can imagine. Finally, add a couple of new plants to complete your transformation.

3. Add A Splash of Colour

Get creative and revive the colours of your old throws and cushion covers with DYLON’s easy to use Machine Dye Pods. To use, simply pop the pod into your washing machine alongside the fabric you want to dye. The dyes can be used on most cushion materials such as cotton, viscose, linen, canvas and ramie. They come in a range of 22 beautifully intense shades that provide permanent colour, and are perfect for updating linens that you might have lying around. 

4. Pay Attention to The Garden Furniture 

A report into garden hygiene by Dr Lisa Ackerly found that a garden table has as many germs as a bin lid! To combat the threat of your garden table becoming a breeding ground for bacteria, make sure you clean your garden table before and after use. Bring your hardwood garden furniture to life by using a stiff bristle brush to remove all the excess dirt that has accumulated. Plastic furniture can be washed down with a sponge or cloth, and a bucket of warm, soapy water.

5. Tackle The BBQ

Before you start, keep your fingers crossed that we’ll have enough sun for a barbecue! Next, remember to take the necessary safety precautions like disconnecting the gas canisters. Tackle your barbecue’s interior by turning on the grill to its highest temperature setting and closing the hood. Wait for 10-15 minutes, then open the lid and scrape the grates with a non-bristle metal grill brush getting rid of the grit. Then move onto the grill’s interior where a lot of grease and food particles tend to end. Empty and wash it out with a mild detergent and warm water solution. If the debris has already hardened up, use an old metal knife or old spatula to scrape the sides of the grill chamber. Lastly, don’t forget to clean the exterior as the knobs and handles could be greasy.