Patios | Renew Resources

4 Green Ways to Improve Your Patio

Want to hear something interesting?
Once upon a time, 14% of planet Earth’s surface was once covered with lush rain-forests; today it’s down 6%, which is only expected to last over the next 40 years.
Still interested?
Of course you are!
You wouldn’t be interested in this article if you weren’t interested in the environment, patios, and…of course–veggie burgers.But first! Before you eat you need a patio, right?
And during times of hell, fire and brimstone where facts scream out “help your environment; help your backyard” we can’t help but listen. So without further delay Renew Resources has saved you time and has listed 4 Green Ways to Improve Your Patio!

Use Water-Borne Stains

Kiss the old days of oil-based solvents goodbye and say hello to water-borne staining.
It’s recommended to stay away from oil-based solvents.
They’re highly saturated with paraffin, which leaves your wood vulnerable to heat and sunlight.
If you want to help the environment while you give your deck a face-lift–use water-borne stains for varnish.
This will instantly lower the dangerous organic compounds emitted in the air which rip the Earth’s ozone.
Water-borne solutions also offer all the benefits of H20′s genetic compounds.
This will allow your wood to breathe and stain just the way “Green” wants and needs it to be.

Make DIY Cleaner Using Natural Chemicals

Use white vinegar or apple vinegar to clean out pesky pockets of mildew or rust stains.
I recommend using the following recipe: ½ cup of white vinegar; 1 cup of ammonia ¼ cup baking soda; 1 gallon of warm water.
Try putting it in a spray bottle.
Or just pour your new DIY eco-friendly deck cleaner onto the deck’s surface.
Let it sit, and rinse.
Your tattered deck should look as new as it was last summer.

Use FSC-Certified Wood

If you need to replace dead wood, use FSC-Certified wood to build addition al patio furniture or extensions.
FSC-Certified wood is the most sustainable wood harvested on planet Earth, and one of the most natural sources for furniture.
Better yet, instead of purchasing new wood, save a few trees and shop around at second-hand stores or at garage sales.
If you can’t find anything at garage sales, another alternative is to opt out for eco-friendly wood made out of recycled plastic. It lasts longer, frees you from splinters, warps, and overall maintenance giving you the same wood aesthetic merged with more environmentally conscious “muscle.”

Save a Tree, Use A Deck Cover

Trust me, I’ve been there. You step out onto your patio and voila. You see hideous planks of wood unfit for the grimiest pirate.
To instantly turn your old deck into new, use deck covers.
You’ll save you a lot of time, money, and most importantly trees!
Deck covers resurface your entire deck using a tongue and groove plank system.
It’s low-maintenance, superior to your deck structure, and provides you with the wood color & textured word grain surface we all want for our patios.

Summary

STOP! Before you leave this article thinking about delicious veggie burgers, it’s important to note that only 20% of Earth’s original forests remain in tact.
Over 70% of these forests are found in Russia, Brazil and Canada.
Given the calling of “Green leadership” is trumpeted by all nations; however, these three major countries need to be the “ones” to hammer in the “save-a-tree” nails that build the foundations of a global green effort.
And…that’s the moral of our generation’s story—the end.

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