A guide to winterizing your outdoor living space

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(NAPSI)—Falling leaves and dipping temperatures signal the turn of the season and with that comes the need to prepare your home for winter. Your outdoor living space is no exception; it’s an area you spent months enjoying with summer barbecues and gatherings. All that foot traffic wear and tear and direct sunlight can take a toll on any deck, but with a few easy tips, you can safeguard this area of your home and prepare it for the harsh winter weather ahead.

  • Protect Your Deck-cessories: Excess moisture and freezing temperatures can bring a host of problems for the items in your outdoor space, including furniture, grills and planters. It’s important to guard these investments and make sure they stay protected for years to come.

For areas that experience extreme weather, it’s best to store furniture and cushions indoors to prevent snow accumulation or cover them with a water-resistant material to prevent damage from the elements. For milder climates, protect smaller outdoor wooden items, such as garden boxes, birdhouses and wooden benches, by sealing with Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Wood Protector—Clear Aerosol.

Before the first freeze, move plants that can be easily transplanted indoors. Outdoor planters that are too big to bring inside can be wrapped with a heavily insulated material, like burlap, and moved to an area of the space that will allow them to still get enough direct sunlight.

  • Clean Your Grill: Thoroughly clean the racks of your grill with a grill brush and coat the burners and other metal parts with cooking oil to repel moisture and prevent rust. If it’s a gas grill, turn it on and let the last of the gas burn off. Remove the tank from a propane grill and store outdoors, away from the house. Tape a plastic bag over the gas line opening to keep curious critters from nesting there. No matter the grill type, a heavy-duty vinyl cover should keep it safe and dry all winter long.
  • Defend the Surface: Heavy foot traffic, barbecue grill stains and exposure to the elements can not only ruin the deck’s appearance, but also create the perfect environment for the growth of mold and mildew. HGTV/DIY network star Jeff Wilson notes that these conditions make it important to thoroughly clean the remnants of a summer well spent and get your deck ready for winter. And it’s the perfect time of year to tackle this outdoor project with the heat of summer giving way to cooler fall temperatures.

Coating your deck with a premium product like Thompson’s WaterSeal Penetrating Timber Oil not only nourishes and beautifies wood with a unique triple blend of fast-absorbing oils, but it also includes waterproofing protection against ice, snow and sleet that can penetrate an unprotected surface and cause splitting and cracking of the wood.

Taking the time to winterize your outdoor living space will not only protect your investment, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing that your decorating and designing efforts made during the warmer months will not go to waste because of harsh winter elements.

Both Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Wood Protector-Clear Aerosol and Thompson’s WaterSeal Penetrating Timber Oil are available at The Home Depot. Thompson’s WaterSeal Penetrating Timber Oil is available in five colors: Natural, Teak, Pecan, Walnut and Redwood.

For further facts, tips and helpful hints for your outdoor living space, please visit www.thompsonswaterseal.com.

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For even more ideas and inspiration, see Thompson’s WaterSeal on Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.

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