5 Independence Day Cleaning Rituals

The fourth of July is a very happy time for families in the Ormond Beach and surrounding areas. Celebrating the independence of our great nation is relaxing and fun while having a day off work to spend time with family and friends. This time is great for remembering how far we have come as a country and some of the pivotal times that we are in now. Telling our children about our history is necessary to keep the spirit of independence and freedom alive.

As we approach July 4th, many of us will host this gathering at our home. With this hosting there usually comes a nice sized checklist to make our guests feel at home. We wanted to share some of the cleaning rituals maintained by some of our staff at their homes to hopefully give you some ideas on cleaning up for your get together.

Front Entrance Cleaning

Our staff agreed, the first area our guests see when arriving is the front entrance. Yes, if your driveway or sidewalks needs pressure washing they will notice it too, but as people are in a rush to get from the car to the house in the heat, they will be more focused on the doorway to air conditioning. Giving your front entrance a good pressure washing is the best way to go, but if you are short on time, you can rinse it with your garden hose. Mud daubers, wasp nests and spider webs are pretty common in Florida and can possibly need knocking down at least or scrubbed by hand at best. Even though we carry high-powered pressure washing equipment, we still have to hand scrub these types of stains to get them completely clean.

Arranging your potted plants or decorative items in a new way, near the front door, gives the area a fresh look. Another great tip is to spend a few minutes plucking the dead leaves off those plants. Even though they might not be completely full, taking the dead away is much more pleasing to the eye.

Glass Sliders

As your guests arrive in your home, they will put their purses down and maybe take off their shoes while they soak up that initial burst of cold air. If your house walks straight through to the pool deck, they will most naturally want to walk straight for that area, unless of course they just stop off on the couch for a nap. Our staff all agreed the next area to clean is the glass sliding doors leading out to the pool deck. If you have any sort of glass in your home you know that in certain light you can see every little spec of dirt and it looks horrible.  If you have time to have us come out before the event, we will make those sliders shine bright with our window cleaning service. If you are pressed for time, just grab some soapy water, a rag and a squeegee.  This is your best option. We have to warn you that it definitely looks easier than it is. Our window technicians go through about a month of on the job training before they feel completely confident cleaning a client’s home. In saying that, I have to admit that they are pretty particular. Our goal is not to just spruce it up, but to make it look like a professional has been there.

So get those glass sliders clean and your guests will be on their way to the pool deck.

Pool Deck and Pool Screen Enclosure

This is the area where are the festivities are taking place, right? You will probably have your grill heating up and the drinks on ice in the cooler. The only thing you are missing is some really good music. But before we talk music choices (Kenny Rogers or The Eagles), we need to focus on these two major areas of interest. The deck might have some mold or dirt built up over the last year that missed the spring cleaning routine and the pool screen just never gets any real attention. Let’s face it, when you are out on the deck you are not ever really spending time looking up into the searing sun. So, take a glance at the aluminum frame and screen. Is there mold or dirt that needs to be cleaned up? If your house is in the Volusia or Flagler area and you haven’t cleaned it in about a year, the answer is yes.

Again, if you’ve caught this in time, we can come out and pressure wash the pool deck for you. While there we can take care of pressure washing the pool screen enclosure too. This is a hard area for most homeowners to keep clean due to the height. We have extensions to reach up to 4 stories, so the typical pool enclosure is no problem. Sorry, the garden hose won’t work on this type of job.

The Pool

What would the fourth of July be without kids swimming in the pool? The burgers are on the grill and the kids are screaming while jumping in and climbing out of the pool. Life is good. That is all possible if the pool is clean. This takes some planning. You need at least a day or more to properly bring your pool up to speed for a party of this nature. Our pool technicians help our customers each year prepare for the fourth when they are hosting a party. Our pool service is affordable and we take the hassle and headache out of maintaining your pool.

Good. Now you are a proper American! You can invite over the whole family and tell them to bring the meat! Come on, they have to contribute some way, right?

The only thing you have left to do now is shoot off the fireworks without blowing off your right pinky finger. Happy Independence Day!