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| Right hand side of deck scrubbed |
I do think the urge to spring clean is instinctive. Longer daylight hours and warmer air speaks to our animal instinct to get active. We are just the same as the birds, but instead of feverishly searching for sticks to build a nest, our energies go towards moving out and clearing up that evolutionary cave we spent so many millennia sitting in.
Unusually this year my subconscious has developed an anxiety about the state of the garden rather than the kitchen cupboards. The other day I found myself on my hands and knees scrubbing the decking. It was hard work so I hope we don't have to do the cupboards later.
I haven't scrubbed the deck before because I am worried about the effects any chemicals might have on the fish in the pond. There are gaps between the boards, with concrete underneath, so any water swished on the deck drains directly into the pond. I assume commercial deck cleaning chemicals, or even normal washing up liquid, would harm the fish.
But this year the itch to spring clean was very insistent, so I googled, 'clean decking pond', and it seems the eco way of getting rid of green slime on your deck is to use white vinegar diluted in water.
The vinegar did a very good job. It's powerful stuff. The deck certainly does look cleaner. We just have to wait and see if the Google hive-mind is right about vinegar being harmless to fish (update: there are currently no fish floating belly up).
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| Almost good as new |
