Why Wasps Move Into Your Deck Railings Every August and How to Evict Them Safely

Why Wasps Move Into Your Deck Railings Every August and How to Evict Them Safely

How to Get Powdery Mildew Off Outdoor Cushions Before It Wins

How to Get Powdery Mildew Off Outdoor Cushions Before It Wins

How to Bring Sun-Faded Plastic Patio Furniture Back From the Dead

How to Bring Sun-Faded Plastic Patio Furniture Back From the Dead

Why Your Sliding Glass Door Suddenly Feels Impossible to Push Open

Why Your Sliding Glass Door Suddenly Feels Impossible to Push Open

How to Get Powdery Mildew Off Outdoor Cushions Before It Wins

Outdoor patio cushion with mildew spots propped up in sunlight next to cleaning supplies

By early August your patio cushions have survived approximately nine thousand rainstorms, three heat waves, and at least one incident where someone left a wet swimsuit on them overnight. So it’s not exactly a shock when you flip one over and find fuzzy gray-green splotches staring back at you. That’s mildew, and it grows on…

Why Your Sliding Glass Door Suddenly Feels Impossible to Push Open

Close-up of a sliding glass door track and roller mechanism being lubricated in sunlight

You’ve owned this door for years. It’s always glided along fine, and then sometime around mid-July it turned into a two-hand, hip-check situation just to get out to the patio. If you’re wondering whether the door is broken or you’re just weaker than you used to be, it’s the door. Almost always. Heat Is Doing…

Why Your Outdoor Faucet Still Leaks After You Replaced the Washer

Hands using a wrench to tighten an outdoor hose bib faucet on a brick wall

You did the responsible homeowner thing. You noticed the outdoor spigot dripping, you shut off the water, you pulled the stem, and you swapped in a shiny new rubber washer. Twenty minutes of work, mild sense of accomplishment. Then you turn the water back on and it’s still leaking. Sometimes worse than before. Annoying, right?…