They call it Spring cleaning for a reason: to get ready for the Summer! The same goes for our gardens and outside areas because once those clouds part and the sun begins to shine, we practically live outside. With the season quickly approaching and days filled with BBQs and sunbathing always on our minds, many of us want to get the garden ready for all of what’s to come. While many of us feel this way, however, we often don’t have the time to do it all or don’t even know where to start!
One thing is for sure, you don’t need anything new! In fact, when a cleaning job is done right, it can bring the life back into your outside areas and make your garden look new again anyway. To help you make your garden and outside areas look as good as new, here are a few ways that you can give them the ultimate spring clean that they deserve!
How to Spring Clean Your Garden
Clean from Top to Bottom
If you’re planning on cleaning everything outside, it makes sense to start with things that are higher up. For example, if you wanted to clean your patios but then end up doing your gutters, you’re just going to have to clean those patios twice, so start at the top!
Roof Cleaning
Many people don’t think of cleaning the roof of their house or even think it’s necessary, but it is actually surprising how many benefits it offers.
Over time, moss build up can damage your roof, as each piece of moss absorbs water that gradually increases the weight that it holds. When it’s particularly windy, this moss can also become dislodged, either falling into and blocking your pipes or falling onto your patio and causing algae to grow there. So, to start off your spring clean of your garden, why not start with the roof? An unlikely source of grime!
You really must hire a professional to clean your roof, as the correct equipment must be used and Health and Safety guidelines adhered too; it is dangerous up there. Sometimes a simple power wash is all that is needed to remove contamination but that depends on the type of contamination. Also, not all tiles are suitable to be power washed. After a wash, it is important to ask for your roof to be treated after cleaning to delay re- contamination, so if in doubt seek advice!
Gutter Cleaning
Gutters are another element of the house that are unseen and therefore people believe that they ‘don’t need cleaning,’ but this couldn’t be far from the truth.
As gutters perform the vital function of transporting waste and water away from a building, they are areas where organic growths thrive. If these are left to build up over time, this can cause damage to the inside of your house and therefore bigger problems which will cost a lot more to fix!
There are many DIY methods for unclogging and flushing out your gutters. With professional cleaners, they can easily use a ‘SkyVac’ system which allows them to do this job easily for you in even less time, and all from the ground! Again, the trick is to delay regrowth, so they will need to be sprayed with an environmentally friendly biocide to kill off any existing moss or algae etc. still present after the gutters are cleared. You can save money by booking an annual clean of your gutters, so ask your cleaning company for a quote.
Render Cleaning
If you have rendered walls on your house and algae or fungi has started to grow and discolour the surface, cleaning these will make an amazing difference to the look of your garden!
Our top cleaning tip? Don’t clean it yourself with bleach! Bleach may fix the problem quickly, but trust us when we say, it won’t last and can cause a weakening of the render. Getting your render or pebble dash cleaned by a professional is the best way to go; they will clean and treat the surface with approved biocidal products, not only making your house look great but helping to keep this look last longer!
Clean Your Windows (and don’t forget the frames!)
Unlike the components above that are usually abandoned, windows are something that we can actually see so they tend to regularly get cleaned! For a complete spring clean of your garden, we recommend cleaning all of your windows, including your conservatory glass, AND the frames! Many DIY cleaners just do the glass itself, but doing the frames as well, regularly, makes a whole lot of difference and a pristine overall finish.
Professionals recommend cleaning your windows with pure filtered water, that’s right, no cleaning solutions or chemicals! You won’t believe it until you see it, but you’ll be rewarded with a sparkling finish!
On to Your Timber
Cleaning our decking is often a task that is dreaded, but it really shouldn’t be! Plus, our eye is often drawn to decking as it takes up a large portion of the garden, so a clean decking really makes this job worthwhile. Algae builds up on garden timber causing it to become dark, and if left untreated, this will cause the wood to rot. While this can be left unnoticed on our fences and sheds, when it comes to decking, this can be dangerous.
Our solution? Wash all the grime off using a brush, and then follow this up with a biocidal treatment to keep it looking amazing for longer! Although tempting, the trick is to avoid treating timber with oil, varnish, or paint.
For more help on cleaning your decking, check out our article: Get Your Deck in Ship Shape for the Summer!
And Lastly Your Surfaces
Last but not least is your patios and pathways, the perfect way to finish off your garden! Algae build up here can be especially slippery, so these should be cleaned as soon as possible to prevent any accidents.
To clean your surfaces, you should remove as much of the weeds and moss as possible first, before giving them a pressure wash. Although the wash will make the slabs look pristine, the important thing is to treat them after with a biocide. This will target the roots of the weeds and the algae spores that you cannot see so you won’t have to clean as regularly!
So there we have it! Everything you need to know to clean the whole of your back garden ready for Spring and the Summer to come!
What we can do for you:
If you need any advice or want to know more about biocidal treatments, feel free to contact us. It’s amazing how much of a difference a good clean can make!
01792 293937