The "Pioneer Patio Polish" (Deck Care & Sun Shielding)
- Realtor Annie
- 5 hours ago
- 2 min read
Happy late July, Salt Lake! With Pioneer Day festivities wrapping up and long summer evenings still ahead, late July is the absolute peak of backyard BBQ and patio season. We love spending time outdoors, but our high-altitude geographic location comes with a hidden hazard for our homes: intense, concentrated UV radiation. Sitting over 4,000 feet above sea level means the sun's rays break down, crack, and fade exterior wood and outdoor furniture significantly faster than in lower-altitude states.
Before you invite the neighbors over for your next weekend cookout, let’s spend fifteen minutes doing a quick structural health check on your outdoor living space to make sure the mountain sun isn't doing permanent damage.
The Hack: The Deck Water Splash Is your wood deck actually protected by its sealant, or is it completely exposed and drying out under the intense UV glare? Find out in ten seconds:
Take a cup of water out to your deck during a shaded time of day.
Splash a couple of tablespoons of water directly onto the wood planks in high-traffic areas.
Watch closely: If the water beads up into tight droplets on top of the wood, your sealer is healthy and doing its job. If the water immediately sinks into the grain and turns the wood dark within a minute, the seal has failed. Your wood is unprotected, vulnerable to deep splitting, warping, and splintering.
Quick Patio Refreshes for Your Next Cookout: While you're checking the structural health of your deck, use these two rapid-fire tricks to bring your outdoor space back to life:
Revive Sun-Faded Furniture: Don't throw away those dull, faded resin or plastic patio chairs. Wipe them down with a microfiber cloth dipped in a tiny amount of boiled linseed oil. The oil penetrates the sun-damaged plastic, instantly restoring its deep, vibrant color and original factory shine.
Ditch the Dangerous Wire Grill Brushes: Metal grill brush bristles can snap off, get stuck to the cooking grates, and make their way into your food. Instead, ball up a large sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil, grip it firmly with your long cooking tongs, and scrub your hot grill grates down. The foil perfectly molds to the shape of the bars, scraping away grease safely and effectively.
That wraps up our July series of Hump Day Home Hacks! Taking care of an outdoor space in Utah takes a little extra love, but keeping up with these micro-tasks keeps your property value high and your summer stress low. Enjoy the rest of your summer, fire up that grill, and we will see you back here in August!
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