Category Archives: Tips

Hopefully by now you have taken advantage of the nice weather and started using your grill more this season.  Keeping your grill clean is one of the secrets of great grilling, that and Dad’s secret BBQ recipe.  Cleaning not only avoids having last night’s steak marinade on tonight’s salmon, but it also extends the life of your grill.  Below are 6 tips on how to clean your grill.

1. To avoid mixing flavors and spices you can cook your fish on foil placed on top of the grate.  You can also buy special pans with holes on the bottom and wooden handles that are made just for grilling.
2. Using a light olive oil coating on your grill grate can keep the meats from sticking and will also make cleaning your grill easier.
3. It is best to clean your grill after and not before you cook.  Cleaning your grates with a stiff wire brush while the grill is still warm will help remove unwanted food particles.
4. Make sure you dump the ashes from your charcoal grill after every use and at least once a year get a bucket of soapy water and give it a really good clean, especially the debris that sits on the bottom of your grill.
5. Gas grills need to have a thorough cleaning at least once a year as well.  You will need to disconnect the gas and lift the parts of the grill to clean those hard to reach places.  Inspect the burners to make sure nothing is blocking the flow of gas.
6. Use your oven’s self-cleaning setting on the grates and any other metal parts that are small enough to fit.  This will save you a lot of time.

Remember to clean your grill regularly, same as you do your stovetops, and there will be less wear and tear on your grill.  Happy Grilling!

If there is no helping  your grill and you are looking to purchase a new one, let Outdoor Environments help, take a look at some of our grill enclosures below.

Now that the weather has turned warm it is time to get your deck ready for barbeque season. To extend the life of your deck you will need to routinely clean it.

Before cleaning your deck, remove everything from the floor and sweep away all debris.  Now to the cleaning, you can use a oxygen based cleaner, which is safe for the environment, pets and kids.   Dissolve the cleaner into water and apply across your deck with a mop, handled brush or sprayer.

You will need to wait 10 minutes before you wash away with either a garden hose or pressure washer.  If you use a pressure washer it is very important to set the dial to 1,500 pounds of pressure per square inch, any higher and you can risk damaging the wood.

For further instructions please watch this short clip from DIYNetwork.com.

DID YOU KNOW Kansas ranks #4 in terms of total number of tornados?  Situated in “Tornado Alley“, a broad region where cold air from the Rocky Mountains and Canada collides with warm air from the Gulf of Mexico, leads to the formation of powerful storms.  A tornado can strike in a matter of seconds and one needs to know where to seek shelter.  A basement, a bathroom without windows, a closet under stairs are all places that might be able to protect you if a tornado strikes your home, but the safest place would be the DuPont StormRoom with KEVLAR. The DuPont StormRoom, engineered to withstand over 70,000 pounds of debris, meets FEMA requirements and can endure a F5 tornado.

Not your typical concrete bunker, this StormRoom can be a functional room during any season. With a little wiring and plumbing you can turn your shelter into a laundry room or home office.  Outdoor Environments can install the DuPont StormRoom in your new or existing home in just a few days.  The best part is that it is the only shelter that can be installed above ground or in the basement.

Be prepared this tornado season and call Outdoor Environments now for more details The DuPont StormRoom.  You can also check out the installation process of our StormRooms on our Facebook Fan page here.

You’ve designed the outdoor space of your dreams and outfitted it with all the bells and whistles, from an outdoor grilling station and firepit to high-end outdoor furniture. Sure, you’ve got the dream design elements, but how to turn that into an inviting space for entertaining this spring and summer?

“Outdoor spaces can be kind of intimidating,” says designer Brian Patrick Flynn, founder of decordemon.com in an “Ask a Designer” article for The Associated Press. “When you design a room, you have four walls and it’s easy to conceptualize what will fill it. Outside, the possibilities are endless and you don’t really have a sense of scale. The sky goes on forever.”

Here are XX tips to transform your space into the talk of the town:

* Focus on the floor.

“I love the idea of layering little area rugs outside, in an ethnic, Moroccan-y way,” says Los Angeles interior designer Betsy Burnham. “We did it in sort of an American way on a porch in northern Michigan,” she says, “with striped kilim rugs. It made it so intimate out there, and you can sit down on them because it’s not just a cold outdoor surface.” No need to spend a lot, she says: “Pull them from in front of your sink. Be creative with what you already have in your house.”

* Set the mood with lighting.

Don’t assume you have to spend top dollar, and don’t discount low-tech options.

“Candeliers are gorgeous,” says Genevieve Gorder, of HGTV’s “Battle on the Block,” referring to metal racks hung with lots of candles. “So are hurricane lamps, paper lanterns and artificial LED candles. Make it sexy outside and people will be there. You’ll use that space more.”

Another can’t-lose choice, according to Burnham: little white Christmas lights. She wraps a few strands around an olive tree just off her patio to add a soft glow.

* Plants with a Purpose

Let plants create the perfect backdrop. “Use some potted boxwoods,” Burnham suggests, or small potted citrus trees, “and you’ll all of a sudden have this sort of manicured greenery outside.” Also, think color. “Flowers and plants are your paint outside,” says Gorder. She loves geraniums. “They’ll last all year and give that brilliant pop of color.”

Maintenance and cleaning can go a long way in extending the life of your outdoor living spaces. From gardens to grills, here’s how to winterize your backyard bastion and shield your spaces from the elements this season.

• Keep your plants frost-free. Whether it’s as aesthetically pleasing as a glass cloche, or as simple as a sawed-off milk jug or plastic bucket from the garage, take extra care to protect your cool-season crops from frost. For larger areas, try draping sheets or fabrics over the plants, making sure they hit the ground to trap heat around the plants’ base. For more ideas on extending the harvest season, see garden.com
• Perform the required maintenance on your grill and outdoor islands, so your first spring fling (or clean!) won’t involve the heartache of replacing favorite items. Scrub and rinse your grill and island to release built-up grease and grime. Reseal the grout on tiles exposed to the elements.
• Protect your furniture. Use durable, weather-proof vinyl covers for lounges, tables and chairs. Wrap or tie covers around legs to keep in place. Check cushions for mold; store all cushions indoors; wrap in a light cotton sheet to keep critters away.

A quick clean now will pay off later—hopefully on that first beautiful spring day!

Stimulate the economy and the environment? Sounds like a win-win to us. Thanks to the success of the government’s much-hyped Cash for Clunkers program, a program proposed earlier this month—dubbed, you guessed it, Cash for Caulkers—promises to benefit contractors, construction workers and homeowners alike in an effort to encourage job creation and energy efficiency as part of President Obama’s larger stimulus initiatives.

Via Treehugger.com, Britannica

From performing an energy audit to using an online Energy Saver calculator, we recommend reading this article in the USA Today, which outlines nearly 20 different measures you can take to weatherize your home, and the potential incentives that will get contractors back to work, and homeowners on the path to save.

And for extra credit, check out this diagram outlining some potential weatherization projects on Treehugger.com.

Diagram via Treehugger.com

Between scented candles and Christmas trees and electric lights and fireplaces, it’s no wonder the risk for fire increases exponentially during the holiday season. According to www.firesaftey.gov, fires in this short time frame injure 1,650 Americans, causing more than $990 million in damages.

Below, we (literally) spell out some prevention measures to make sure this holiday season is a safe and merry one for you and your family.

Space heaters. Place them at least three feet away from anything flammable. Make sure an adult is in the room when heaters are on. Turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep. The same goes for burning candles.
Alarms. Install at least one smoke alarm on each floor level of the home, including basements. Test the alarms monthly, and be sure to change batteries at least once a year.
Fires. Never burn unconventional items such as wrapping paper or boxes in the fireplace, as this could cause a chimney fire. Fireplaces are for wood only. The same applies to stoves and ovens—use these strictly for cooking, and not for heating.
Escape. Plan a home escape with two ways out of each room. Practice your exit plan with every member of the family to make sure it works. Invest in fire extinguishers, and know how to use them.
Trees. For artificial trees, only choose flame-retardant ones with a UL label. Cut trees should be watered daily to be kept fresh. Never use real candles on trees. Keep trees at a safe distance from fireplaces, other sources of heat, and doorways. Dispose of trees at an authorized recycling center.
Your lights. Inspect lights for wear and tear, such as frayed wires or gaps in insulation. Periodically check wires—they should not be warm to touch. Connect strings to an extension cord before plugging in.

For more information, visit firesafety.gov to keep your home fire-free this holiday season.