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To ensure a child could have fun while playing safely outdoors, regular maintenance to a backyard is necessary. Properly cleaning of inflatables, removing rusts from playset, and maintaining a healthy lawn are all essential routines I would do.
A suitable set of tools would definitely make your life easier. Below are some tools I would use to maintain the backyard and a child’s playsets. I have a great experience using some of them, while the others are the ones that I have put in hours of research for you. Hope you’ll find it useful 🙂
(By the way, this page contains affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase after clicking on the link. Please understand that I include them based on our experience or the research on these companies or products, and I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.)
Interesting Things in this Post
Great Solution for Cleaning Inflatable Playset
Matt-Kleen Disinfectant Cleaner:
To ensure I won’t use an unsuitable cleaner which could damage the inflatable playset, I actually checked with one of the reputable inflatable manufacturers, BlastZone. Their customer service representative recommended using the “Matt Kleen disinfectant” to clean the playset.
I read over their Product Description. This cleaner is widely used in athletic facilities, locker rooms, schools, colleges, and other recreational facilities. It can also be used on vinyl surfaces, which many inflatables are made of.
According to their “Direction For Use,” you simply add 2 ounces of Matt-Kleen for every gallon of water. Spray on the dirty spots, then wipe it with a clean towel or scrub it with a soft brush. Then just let it air dry. Unless you spray too much solution on it, it should be dry within minutes. If not, you could pat it dry with a towel.
One thing I like about Matt-Kleen is that it is a no-rinse disinfectant cleaner. If you are looking for a quick and easy solution to clean your inflatable, Matt-Kleen (affiliate link) would be the way to go.
Waterproof Tarp
If you are going to soak and clean your inflatable playset, then you’ll need to make sure it is dry before you store it. While you’re waiting for it to air dry, you should lay it somewhere that is clean. A good option is to place it on top of a waterproof tarp.
Here’s one that received many great customer reviews. Out of over 250 reviews, over 86% of them are a compliment to this product.
It comes with different size, as small as 15 X 20 feet, to as big as 30 X 50 feet. It also has the color options of army green, dark blue, and blue.
Solution to Easily Convert Rust
The rust converter I like is the Corroseal Water-Based Rust Converter. I like them because they are eco-friendly, non-corrosive, non-flammable, easy to apply (spray, brush, or roll), easy to clean up with soap and water.
Their company claims this rust converter to be very durable. It is formulated primarily for use in the marine industry, one of the harshest environments for coatings. It also primes the surface with a high-quality latex metal primer at the same time, which provides an easy one step corrosion protection.
I also contacted their company, and they confirmed that it is safe to apply on kids’ outdoor playset such as metal slide and swing. Of course, an adult should be the one who handles this makeover, and not the children. There’s no need to mix it with water to be used.
Out of the 550 customer reviews I have seen so far, over 87% are positive.
It comes with different volume of 1 Quart, 1 Gallon and 5 Gallons.
Protection for Wooden Sets
I did some caring for my deck a couple of years ago. Next time, I would also try using the Ready Seal solution.
There are many wooden items you could find in a backyard. For example, the fences, deck, or even a child’s outdoor playset. Although they beautifully compliment to the natural environment, without proper care, they could get wear and tear from the different weathered condition.
It is important to seal and stain them once every 1 to 2 years. I particularly like the Ready Seal Wood Stain and Sealer (Affiliate link) because this one is a 2-in-1 solution. Rather than doing the sealing and staining separately, you only need to apply this once. Simplifying the process could be a tremendous added benefits for many busy parents.
You could apply it with a roller, brush or sprayer. The manufacturer does not recommend applying it over newly painted or stained surfaces, because they could prevent the solution to penetrate into the woods.
Out of the 242 customer reviews on Amazon, over 91% provided excellent feedback for this product.
Practical Equipment to Maintain a Healthy Lawn
Cordless Electric Lawn Mower
When I choose my lawn equipment, I prefer ones that are cordless. They just make my job so much easier without the worry of damaging the cord or tripping over it while using. Also, I would try to avoid ones that are using gas, as I hate its burning smell. Besides, it would not be good for the environment.
I have been using a cordless lawn mower for over four years. It still functions well today. However, when I did the research, I could no longer locate the model I bought.
Having said that, I believe the Snow Joe lawn mower could be a great alternative. It is a lightweight cordless lawn mower. It runs in a battery, where you could take it out for the machine and recharge it as needed. According to its product page, a fully charged battery should have a maximum runtime of 40 minutes.
One thing I really like about the Snow Joe lawn mower is that the handle can be folded, which would take up a lot less storage space.
You can adjust the machine in mowing the lawn with different grass length. There is an indicator that shows when the grass bag is full.
It received over 300 customer reviews on Amazon, of which over 76% are positive. Read more about this cordless lawn mower
Cordless Electric Leaf Blower
I have been using the Ryobi leaf blower for over four years now. This is such a handy and convenient piece of equipment.
You simply insert the battery, and then you could use it without any annoying cord attaching to it. This is good for blowing off dust, and grass clipping off the roads.
When I bought it, it comes with the charger and battery. But I don’t think they sell it in a combo nowadays for this model, so you might have to purchase them separately.
The leaf blower itself still works fine for me, but the battery did die this season. I think I could have taken better care of it, as I have been storing it in the shed all long. Instead, I should have brought it indoors where the temperature variation is not so drastic.
Anyway, I’m okay with buying another battery after four years of usage. One thing I like about the Ryobi is that its battery is compatible with all its other equipment. I could also use my new battery on the Ryobi’s trimmer. Here’s are the links to get the charger and battery. (Affiliate links)
Cordless Electric Trimmer
If I remember correctly, I should have bought this trimmer together with the Ryobi leaf blower four years ago. Since they are the same brand, they could share using the same battery.
I had a great time using it in the past few years, and it’s still functioning very well as of today. It has a handle that makes it easy to move around.
I typically use it to trim the edges of my yard, remove the weeds in between the interlock cement, and other unwanted plants. However, it would not be strong enough for a tree’s branches.
Under the protective shield, there is a spool where you could easily insert the trimmer line. You just need to open the protective cap in getting access to it. From my personal experience, when there is only a short trimmer line remain in the spool, it could fly out. So I always make sure there are at least several rounds of trimmer line left.
When using this equipment, remember to wear safety gloves and goggles. You could check out it price and what others think about this trimmer here.
Lightweight Wood Chipper that Turns Your the Branches into Wood Mulch
Since I have a few pine trees in my backyard, from time to time, there would be fallen branches and pine cones. Rather than throwing them as wastes, I’m now turning them into nutrient-rich wood mulch with the Sun Joe Wood Chipper.
The setup is straightforward. By following their instructional guide, it literally took me less than 15 minutes.
As for the usage, I just put in the branches, pine cones, and other yard debris into it, then it would turn into a nice pile of wood mulch. I’m now using that for my flower bed and for composting.
There is no bag or container to collect the wood mulch, so as you could see in the picture I use a card box for that. The power plug cannot go directly into the walls. I bought a separate 50 feets extension cord for it.
I would only use this for light duty shredding, as the maximum diameter it could handle is 1.5 inches. However, I tried once with a thick branch, although it did not go through, it is not that difficult to get it out from the shredder. (But of course, if you need to remove the cover, make sure to disconnect the power first. Always follow the manufacturer’s safety instruction!)
While others could cost thousands of dollars, I bought this one for under $150, which is extremely affordable. You can check out its latest price in here. (Affiliate link)
Scare Off the Pest Animals in a Non-Harmful Way
Motion Activated Sprinklers
I like animals, and I also understand it is important to share nature with them. However, when they continuously ruin your garden and poop all over the yard, it could be very frustrating.
I was researching what are some non-harmful ways to deter them from entering my yard, and then this motion activated sprinkler came up.
The built-in sensor can detect motion within 30 feet. As soon as the motion sensor detects an animal, it would spray off a blast of water to scare them away. The jet of water would last for around 5 seconds, which makes it very low in water consumption.
The only downside is this one uses “AA” batteries. I hope they could upgrade to a solar one in the future. Other than that, I believe this would be a good one to try.
P.S: I also searched through other motion activated sprinklers. So far, I cannot find one that is comparable to the Hoont Cobra’s. It received a good rating, while over 100 customers have already tried it. >> Click here to read more (Affiliate link)
More coming soon…
Jacob is a father of two daughters. He loves spending quality time with them in the backyard. Playing sports, blowing bubbles, and planting are some the favorite activities Jacob and his daughters like to do together. He believes it is essential to spend quality time with them while they are still young.