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"With cookout season and Memorial Day weekend right around the corner, now&amp;#039;s the time to get your patio, deck, and outdoor spaces in shape for summer   entertaining. While even just the thought of removing a winter&amp;#039;s worth of dirt from these areas can be overwhelming, here are a few new products and a few of my favorite tips to help you breeze through any outdoor cleaning task.  1. Granite Gold Outdoor Stone Cleaner ($14, left) Thanks to the stone care experts at Granite Gold, now you can treat your outdoor patio, walks, and driveway with the same TLC you give the granite countertop in your kitchen. To clean slate, concrete, limestone, and more, simply attach the 64-ounce container to your garden hose. Wet the surface with clear water and then apply the cleaner. Light soil can usually be rinsed away immediately. For heavier dirt and grime, allow the cleaner to penetrate for ten minutes before rinsing. Use a nylon broom if light scrubbing is needed. The manufacturer claims the formula is safe for plants, animals, and house siding. Do you have some set-in-stone stains? Don&amp;#039;t fret. Granite Gold offers in-depth stain removal advice online and via a toll-free number.  2. Bounty DuraTowel ($3.19, right) I choose paper towels for many outdoor cleaning chores because I don&amp;#039;t want to wash dirt-caked rags in my washing machine. I find paper towels perfect for cleaning the hanging baskets and planters I bring home from the   nursery, removing stains and droppings from my patio furniture, and even wiping down the dusty frames around my windows and sliding glass door. But this year, I&amp;#039;m reaching for Bounty&amp;#039;s new DuraTowel instead. A new Good Housekeeping Seal holder, in our tests these towels were thicker, stronger, and more cloth-like than regular paper towels. And because they can be rinsed and reused, I know I&amp;#039;ll get more mileage from each sheet before tossing it away. In the kitchen and at the grill, these towels are a great alternative to dishrags and other cloths that can hold and spread germs.  3. Simple Green Ready-To-Use All-Purpose Cleaner ($1.97 for 32-ounces, left) Now, the power of Simple   Green&amp;#039;s versatile Concentrated All-purpose Cleaner is available in a diluted ready-to-use spray formula. Straight from the bottle and without mixing, this grease and grime cutter is super easy to use to clean patio furniture, umbrellas, grills, vinyl chair cushions, sports gear and more. It&amp;#039;s available exclusively at Walmart and like the original formula, impressed us in our tests and is a Good Housekeeping Seal holder.  And here are a few of my tried-and-true tips to help your outdoor areas stay clean all season long:  Between uses, tuck removable chair cushions into a storage box, shed, or the garage to keep rain and dust from soiling them Place planters and pots on raised stands to eliminate trapped moisture that causes mildew stains on a deck or patio  When a storm is imminent, tip chairs forward or sideways. This helps rainwater drain off so there&amp;#039;s less staining and the chairs dry more quickly Close your umbrella between uses to keep it cleaner longer   If you&amp;#039;re in the market for new outdoor furniture, read our online Buy Smart Guide. Check out the results of our Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) test of Patio Furniture Covers to make sure your furniture is well protected this year. To see firsthand how we test paper towels, all-purpose cleaners, and all the products we recommend, sign up for a Good Housekeeping Research Institute tour. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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