Rescue Your Trampoline From Muck And Dirt With A Cleaning Product You Already Have On Hand

Trampolines offer lots of backyard fun for kids and adults all summer or year long if you live in the South. As a child, you don't have to think of much before you jump on a trampoline, aside from whether or not to wear socks. But as an adult, you must consider maintenance and cleaning, especially if the trampoline goes unused for months and is coated in debris. Thankfully, the primary cleaning product you'll need to rescue any ailing trampoline is already in your kitchen: dish soap. While there are a number of household items you shouldn't clean with dish soap, your trampoline isn't one of them.

Perhaps you don't think of a trampoline as something that needs cleaning, but looking at the soles of your feet after 10 minutes of jumping will probably change your mind. In addition to dirt, trampolines can collect leaves, acorns, tree branches, and many other objects that fall onto them, especially if you have a net around them. To keep a trampoline in the best shape possible, clean it with dish soap once or twice a month, depending on where you live and how mucky it gets. It's best to tackle this task on a sunny day at the warmest point to help with drying. The cleaning process should take roughly 20 minutes from start to finish, but it could go longer if there's a lot of debris to remove and residue to clean.

As with any other item, there's a right and wrong way to clean a trampoline. Sometimes, you have to consider the surface and chemicals, and other times, you have to factor in the tools you use to prevent damage and ensure a thorough cleaning. The first step should always involve removing everything on top of the mat. You can also remove the net for easier access. If trees hover above your trampoline, you'll probably have to remove leaves and other debris, which you can do with a leaf blower, broom, or both. Leaf blowers, in particular, are handy tools to have around for taking care of problems in your yard. After clearing the debris, use your garden hose to wet the entire trampoline surface.

For the actual cleaning process, pour some dish soap into a bucket of lukewarm water and dip a large sponge in it, just as you would do to wash a car. Then, scrub the trampoline using a circular motion. You can also utilize other soaps and cleaning tools, as long as the soaps are mild and the tools don't have hard bristles. After you've cleaned the entire mat, rinse it off and dry it with a towel. Be sure the mat is completely dry before jumping on it again.