Outdoor spaces are becoming more of a summertime favorite than ever before. Set the vibe with string lights, heaters or fire tables. Invite friends and family and soak up the benefits of being outdoors. Bringing the patio life to your home can be mentally rewarding and so enjoyable. You can get all the patio swag on the market, but if your furniture or cushions are stained and dirty, it takes the comfort and aesthetic level down a notch. Think of this space as an extension of your kitchen or dining room. You wipe your kitchen table daily and spot treat stains on chairs regularly so do the same out here.
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There are many different varieties and qualities of patio furniture. Do your research before making these big purchases. Depending on your climate, you may need one over another. Here are a few great things to look for:
- Hand-woven all-weather wicker/rattan or rust-proof metal are key features to stand the test of time in the elements.
- Good quality cushion fabric is important for durability and longevity. Sunbrella® fabric gets top marks for care and maintenance. It can be bleached for disinfecting mold and mildew and has the best UV protection and water repellent ratings.
- Deck/Storage boxes (Canada) (USA) are an excellent investment for storing cushions when not in use.
- All-weather furniture coverings (Canada) (USA) are a great alternative and offer protection. Make sure to measure correctly!

We’ve created a roundup of all our favorites to make your shopping experience a little easier. (Canada) (USA)
Climate aside, all the same culprits will find their way onto your outdoor furniture. Garden soil/mud, animal droppings, tree sap/buds or pollen. Live in an area under construction? Good luck with that dust! Moss, mold or mildew are also inevitable if the furniture is facing the elements and will cause all sorts of damage if you let it.
Daily Care:
Brush off dirt before it gets crushed into the fabric. If you want to go the extra mile to preserve your investment, start taking your cushions into the house every night, store them in a deck box or use a cover. Umbrella covers (Canada) (USA) are ideal as well. Metal sets will last longer if you dry them well after rain. Even if they are rust-proof, it just takes a few minutes to ensure they last. Pay extra attention to hard to reach areas like the joints and screws.
Spot Cleaning:
Our go-to cleaning product for patio furniture is hands down blue Dawn® Dish Soap (Canada) (USA). No matter what type of furniture or material you are dealing with, the gentle effective suds will be your best bet. If you are doing an entire sectional or multiple chairs mixing a 1 tbsp of blue Dawn® dish soap and a gallon of hot water is best. Use a sponge to apply the suds, allowing them to penetrate the fabric. In some cases you will need to clean seam-to-seam as spot-cleaning can leave water marks. After the cushion cleanse, use the leftover Dawn® water to tackle cobwebs around your patio and decks. They are sticky and suds are great for this.

Try to blot liquid spills right when they happen with a clean dry cloth (Canada) (USA). Mix up a spray bottle of blue Dawn® dish soap and water to have handy to spray down spills before they become set-in stains. Most outdoor spills or messes tend to have some factor of oil or grease to them. Yes, this even includes sunscreen stains.
Set in Stains:
A soft sponge or soft bristle brush (Canada) (USA) can be used to work out the dried messes that have sat for a while. For deep set stains such as grass or food, make a paste of powdered Tide® (Canada) (USA) and hot water. Gently work the paste into the stain until gone, then rinse with water. Check out this article for tips on how to remove protein stains, and this article for help with food stains.
Washing Machine:
Most removable cushion covers can go in the washing machine, make sure to check your labels first. A scoop of powdered Tide®, delicate cycle, zippers closed and hung to dry. This should be a pre-season and end of season job.
Pro Tip: Number the cushions and corresponding cushion covers so you know which goes on what.

Pressure Washer:
When it’s time to bring out the big guns, pressure washers (Canada) (USA) work wonders on all types of outdoor furniture and their fabrics. Rinsing soap suds and surface dirt is a breeze. They are well worth their price tag, if in the budget. Always spray cushions on a cement surface to avoid grass or mud stains. Tables with shatterproof glass will need to be polished with Windex® (Canada) (USA) after they have dried. It’s a good idea to get in the habit of pressure washing all your hard furniture and patio surfaces during Spring and Fall Cleaning making them ready for season or storage. While you have it out do your house siding and outdoor railing and fences. Don’t stop there, do your windows! You can tackle your windows with the help of this article.

We LOVE our Ruggable Rugs around here including their outdoor versions. They add texture and depth with an element of luxury, all while being easy to maintain. They can be swept, hosed down, or thrown in the washing machine. They are stain, water and fade resistant and are the perfect statement to any outdoor space and stand the test of time.

Outdoor living can be hard work but it is completely worth it. We at the #cleaningarmy are all about maintaining your investments and creating less work in the long run.
Enjoy your Patio!
- Katie W @GoCleanCo
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Follow @GoCleanCo for seriously satisfying videos and top-secret tips. Don’t be shy, come say hi.
gocleanco
Jul 20
Pesto anyone? 🤢 #cleaningmotivation
gocleanco
Jul 14
We scrubbed and shined up this small space and put it back together with some TLC…and a @ruggable ! Best thing about smaller @ruggable (like besides that you can wash them and switch them out whenever you get bored) they are cheaper! Use my code: GOCLEAN10 to save a few bucks! @ruggable #ruggablepartner
gocleanco
Jul 9
Small Patio Clean Up: What I used: Floors: water, bleach and powdered Tide Siding: powdered Tide and hot water Windows: water and Blue Dawn and my trusty Aquablade Windows Screens: wiped them with powdered tide a few times (they were not removable) Patio tracks: my Dupray Steamer And a healthy dose elbow grease (shit doesn’t clean itself folks, you still need to do some work) The rest is coming shortly! I just bit off more than I could chew (as usual) and it’s gonna take more than a day to finish. #summervibes
gocleanco
Jun 27
Roll call of some of our favourite caddy staples! We carry an arsenal of products at work so we are never empty-handed when we meet a scary mess. Check out my stories for quick tutorials on where, when and how we use these products in the field at @gocleanco #sponsored @mrclean @febreze @microban24 @dawndishwash @swiffer
gocleanco
Jun 26
Pet odours can get really bad in the summer! Use @febreze Fabric Pet Odour Eliminator to keep your furniture smelling fresh. Lots of people think @febreze masks the smell but it actually removes bad odours. You just spray it on your couch and let it air dry. Be sure to spray until the fabric is damp to touch - this lets the product get deep down into the fibres of the upholstery, in order to eliminate the source of the odour. @febreze works best on lingering odours when you cover the entire area well. #sponsored
gocleanco
Jun 21
Over packer or under packer? TRUTH: I have never *carried on* in my life. I’ll wait 40 mins for my checked bag if means I can bring 5 pairs of shoes for a 4 day trip. I will live with my choices thankyouverymuch Off to the Big 🍎 for a few days with the @amazoninfluencerprogram All my outfits are linked up in my Amazon store and on my LTK. Link in bio. P.S. thanks for cute reel inspo @lauren_lally #hosted
gocleanco
May 30
Our little blog on bleachpraylove.com is getting so much traction and we are living for it. The blog has a search bar function so y’all can go directly there and search alllllll the things you need to clean. We are building it to include everything from blenders to car mats! Y’all are our built in focus group and the blog post ideas come directly from the questions in our comments and DM’s so let us know what you need us to show ya below! ⤵️ #bleachpraylove
gocleanco
May 19
The winner of the Spring Cleaning Challenge full-blown-top-to-bottom house clean from @gocleanco is 🥁 @sherilg4 !!!! We will be heading to Ontario to clean her house this fall and y’all get to come along in my pocket. 📱 Thank you to everyone who joined in on the Spring Cleaning Challenge! We have another one under our belt. It’s over. Now go take a nap. 📸 cred @substanceyyc 💕 #cleaningarmy
gocleanco
May 13
Washable chair covers. The thing we didn’t know we needed until it existed. Make sure you check out my stories where I put them to the test. 😈 @levityhome has living room and dining chairs and dozens of different covers to choose from, you can change up the vibe of your living room and swap out the covers whenever you want without having to buy new furniture. 💡 👏🏻 Use my code: GOCLEAN10 #levitypartner
gocleanco
May 8
Happy Mothers Day 🥴
gocleanco
May 5
I climbed up and cleaned this fan with a ladder when we moved in last June and I shoulda had the @swiffer Heavy Duty Dusters with Super Extender Handle. It extends up to 6 feet, you can lock it in place vertically and horizontally to get hard to reach places like the top of fan blades, light fixtures, ledges or shelving. @swiffer Dusters are also a great tool if you do not have accessibility to climb up high or bend down low but the dust still drives you crazy. Not everyone can climb up on a ladder or scrub on their hands and knees but we can help show you gentler ways to keep a clean home. Cleaning accessibility for all! 🙌🏻 I go-go-gadgetted this handy little tool all the way up to my ceiling fan which is 14 feet high. Maybe next time it won't take me an entire year to clean it. 😅 #sponsored
gocleanco
Apr 30
Reminder this week as you tackle the closets and hallways: Put away the winter stuff. It might seem like it’s not big deal to leave it out until next year (cause like really, it’s already nearly summer then it’s Halloween then it’s Christmas 🎄) but if you have to room to store it, do it. It will create so much more space for your MIND. We are nearly finished folks! Sun is shining here next week too so I’m busting out that damn pressure washer 💦 😎 #springcleaning
gocleanco
Apr 27
WHITE SNEAKERS: it's a love/hate relationship. I want my kicks to be blindingly white but as soon as I step outside, they get grubby. HOT TIP: Keep a @mrclean magic eraser at your front door or shoe closet for quick wipe down of your kicks….and I am talking super quick, watch my stories for one-wipe-magic! 🪄 …..I think I might start carrying them in my purse 👜 What else will you be cleaning with @mrclean magic erasers this Spring? #sponsored #mrcleanmagic @mrclean
gocleanco
Apr 24
Spring cleaning is not complete until you shine up your windows. The Aquablade is our go-to for getting the built-up winter grime off your windows. Just fill a bucket with hot water and a good squirt of dish soap, scrub down your windows and squeegee it off. The Aquablade has a patented drip tray to catch any excess water so it's great for interiors too. (You have to clean the window interiors too, not just the outside!) AND @oceansalesltd has the Carbon Tuff cloths back in stock! Get them before they sell out AGAIN. I carry one of these babies in my back pocket at all times, they work on glass, ceramic, stainless steel, counters, electronics….you name it, they polish it without leaving streaks or lint. #sponsored
gocleanco
Apr 20
Catch up week means we are back to the pits of hell AKA bathrooms 😵💫 #springcleaning
gocleanco
Apr 16
Me, watching it snow every single day of outdoor week. 😒 OH WELL. We factored weather and life into the Spring Cleaning Challenge so there is no need to stress if you also live in the North Pole. Next week is catch up week so if you have fallen behind, now is the time to pull up your socks and get back on track. There’s plenty of time if you have not started, the free download is still up for grabs on the website! Did y’all clean anything good outside this week? That car clean put me on my heating pad for two days 👵🏼 #springcleaning
gocleanco
Apr 11
WHAT IS IN THIS STUFF?! Dawn Powerwash has cleaned EVERYTHING I have tested it on. It’s proven itself on some of the trickiest jobs from cookie sheets and stovetops to shower glass and greasy laundry stains. It even got my gross, dirty BBQ grills sparkling ✨ Tune in with me for another IG LIVE with one of the scientists behind @dawndishwash at 4pm MST / 6pm EST TODAY, April 11th, and watch us clean even more unsuspecting items with Dawn Powerwash. What are you using Dawn Powerwash to clean? Give me some ideas! 👇🏻 #sponsored #dawndishwashpartner
gocleanco
Apr 10
It was fun while it lasted. My entire body is seizing up from sitting on cement for 4 days and nights but she LOVES IT! Did I clean anything else this week? NOPE. At least I have a back up career incase I get cancelled 🤷🏼♀️ #dollhouse #americangirl @americangirlbrand
gocleanco
Apr 1
3 days left of Kitchen Week in the Spring Cleaning Challenge. Did a full blown move out clean for my lil sis today, make sure you check out my stories because it was goooooood! How y’all doing? Have you started? Are you ahead? Behind? Watching Netflix and ignoring me? #springcleaning
gocleanco
Mar 29
Y’all always ask me why it has to be @dawndishwash …and I am about to answer all your burning questions in an IG live with one of the super smart scientists behind new Dawn EZ-Squeeze. Make sure you check in at 4pm MST/6pm EST to learn how to use @dawndishwash beyond the kitchen sink. Plus we have a HUGE Giveaway: comment below and let us know what clever ways you use @dawndishwash and we will pick 5 winners to receive $700.00 gift cards to Walmart to cover a year's worth of cleaning supplies. Must be a Canadian or US resident and at least 18 years of age. Winners will be chosen at random March 31, 2022. This giveaway is not sponsored, endorsed, associated or administered by Instagram or Facebook. P&G is only the prize provider and is not involved in the administration of the giveaway, including the winner selection. Please see our website for full contest rules. #dawnpartner #sponsored