How to Clean Outdoor Furniture and Toys without Chemicals

Outdoor season is almost here!! We are so ready for it! For two months, we have had rain every few days. True, this doesn’t compare to the weather rest of the country goes through and California definitely needed all that rain! But the kids… they are itching to play outside. 

Last year, I rescued a patio set from the curb, gave it a makeover and built an outdoor coffee table to create a relaxing space to hang out. It was the center of a lot of fun until I forgot to remove the cushions and cover up the toys and the water table before the rains hit.

What happens when things get soaked and hold water for 2 months? Don’t Answer that – I have seen it in my backyard… but just in case you are wondering… here is a glimpse –

Honestly, I was just waiting for things to dry up a bit and throw those toys away because there was no way I was going to let the kids play with those. Every once in a while, if we had a warm day and the kids played outside, I would have to keep an eye on them and keep yelling at my 3 year old – “Don’t touch those toys!”

The pillows had their share of dirt and mud too… 

***This post contains affiliate or referral links. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services. Please read my full disclosure here ***

That’s when HomeRight sent me the SteamMachine Model 53! It comes with a huge variety of attachments to clean every possible surface and corner and releases high-pressure steam. It was time to put it to the test!

Step 1 – Clean the Furniture – 

The patio chairs, bench and table had a lot of dirt and mud and also some special “presents” from birds. For the table – I gave it a pass with the squeegee attachment which helped everything come loose. Then I wiped it down with a paper towel.

For the rest of the furniture, I used a combination of squeegee and the jet nozzle too to get into the corners. It is amazing how simple steam can take off everything!  

Step 2 – Clean the outdoor Pillows – 

The pillows were muddy from the dust and rain. I am sure they also had mold in them. A couple of passes with the nylon brush attachment made a huge difference! 

They got sanitized with the steam too. Once they had dried overnight, they looked almost like new! 

Step 3 – Clean outdoor toys –

Now let’s talk about those toys. The play table sat in the rain and filled with water for 2 months… I know how you feel reading that… I was disgusted too… like I said, I was just waiting for the rains to stop before throwing it away. Good thing I waited! The small nylon brush attachment and the jet nozzle for the crevices helped clean up this disgusting water table in about 15 minutes! I just gave it a scrub with steam and then rinsed it with water. Just look at the difference on one side after cleaning. Can you believe I cleaned this off with just steam!! It is completely sanitized and no harmful chemicals used at all!  

Step 4- Clean the grill –

Any outdoor space is incomplete without a barbecue grill. I gave the inside of our grill a clean with the brass brush. The outsides got a quick steam with the squeegee tool and a wipe down. 

The best part – no need for harsh chemicals at all!. With just steam, a little bit of scrubbing and 90 minutes, our patio went from really dirty to nice and clean!

I can’t even explain the look in the kids’ eyes when they saw everything had been cleaned and they were free to play with any of the toys! Just look at the clean right side and all its little nooks and crannies! 

The patio pillows look like they have a new life! 

I also used this machine to clean up the tile, grout, and shower in the bathroom. Check it out!