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6 Patio Pieces You Didn’t Know You Could and Should Clean with Dish Soap

ByStan S.

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Outdoor patio furniture and decor is made of weather-resistant materials, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get dirty. Properly storing items is essential, as is regular cleaning. The good news is, you can effectively clean all kinds of patio items with one product that may already be sitting by your kitchen sink: Dawn dish soap.

“Patio items accumulate all sorts of grime—from food spills and sticky drink residues to pollen, dust, and even environmental oils,” says Arianna Castro, P&G home care scientist.

Whether it’s regular dish soap or one of the brand’s heavy-duty sprays, Castro says they are extremely useful for cleaning a variety of patio items, and remove up to 99% of grease and grime. “These products are designed to lift and break down these oily and greasy soils, allowing them to be easily rinsed away,” the she says. To help you keep your patio ready for lounging and entertaining all season long, here are the outdoor items you can clean with dish soap.

1. Outdoor Chair Cushions and Rugs

If you notice a stain on your outdoor chair cushions or a dirty spot on the patio rug, Castro suggests spot-cleaning them with dish soap. “It’s great for treating stains, especially those that are greasy or food-based,” she says. Dawn dish soap is excellent for targeted stain treatment according to the expert, but she does recommend using a dedicated outdoor fabric cleaner for full cleaning. Before you use dish soap to spot-treat outdoor textiles, try it on a hidden spot such as the under-side of a rug to make sure it doesn’t cause discoloration.

2. Hard, Non-Porous Surfaces

Dawn dish soap products are gentle on finishes but tough on dirt, which makes them ideal for cleaning a variety of patio pieces and backyard fixtures. “You can use them on hard, non-porous surfaces such as plastic or resin furniture, glass tabletops, [and] vinyl siding on sheds,” Castro says. One option is to mix a couple of drops of dish soap with warm water in a large bucket and scrub the items with a non-abrasive brush or sponge. Another is to use one of the brand’s sprays and spritz the dirty surface, wipe it down, then rinse with water.

3. Synthetic Wicker Furniture

Not all outdoor furniture that looks like wicker is actually made of natural wicker—some is constructed from synthetic materials such as resin or plastic. Castro says you can clean synthetic wicker furniture with dish soap, but does not recommend using dish soap on natural wicker or wood surfaces to avoid damaging their finish. When cleaning synthetic wicker, make sure to use a non-abrasive sponge or brush that doesn’t cause scratches that can leave the material more vulnerable to weather-related damage.

4. Grill Grates

Backyard barbecues may be fun, but cleaning sticky grill grates—not so much. Castro recommends using dish soap, which is both safe to use and effectively cuts through stubborn grease on gas and charcoal grills. As a general rule of thumb Dawn dish soap is safe to use on stainless steel, cast iron, and porcelain coated grills, but as with every appliance, it is best to check the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions to be on the safe side.

5. Kids’ Plastic Outdoor Toys

If your kids have plastic outdoor toys on the patio, Castro suggests giving them a good clean with dish soap. In a large bucket, mix a couple of drops of dish soap with warm water and stir to combine. Use a non-abrasive sponge or bucket to scrub plastic toys clean, making sure you target any extra grimey spots or crevices that collect dirt and pollen. Rinse the toys with a hose and allow them to air dry completely.

6. Outdoor Coolers

Between sticky spills and old food residue, outdoor coolers can get pretty gross. And since they hold food and drinks, it’s especially important to clean them properly and regularly in order to prevent mold from growing and potentially contaminating the cooler’s contents. Castro recommends using dish soap to clean outdoor coolers. If you notice that the cooler has an unpleasant smell, pre-treat it before cleaning. Mix equal parts water and distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle and generously spritz the inside of the cooler (including the lid) with the mixture. Let it work for at least 30 minutes before scrubbing down the cooler with warm soapy water. Rinse it off the suds with water, wipe it dry with a clean microfiber cloth, and leave it open to fully dry before stocking it again.

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    NDP on TMX pipeline: We didn’t want it. They built it. So let’s use its full potential

    ByStan S.

    Article content Eby and Sharma exaggerate the degree to which the TMX is “underused … with capacity to spare” after one year of operation. Article content The Canadian Energy Regulator reports that the line has operated at about 80 per cent of its 890,000 barrel-per-day capacity since coming online in May 2024. Moreover, the performance improved in the first quarter of this year. Article content “The pipeline ran at about 85 per cent capacity during the three-month period ending in March,” Chris Varcoe reported in the Calgary Herald this week. The Globe and Mail’s Emma Garney further reported that the line “hit a high of 90 per cent” in March. Article content The demand is such that Trans Mountain has already begun test work to boost capacity by up to 10 per cent by the end of 2026. A longer-term project would add pumping stations to boost it to 1.14 million barrels a day, later in the decade. Article content So much for the B.C. NDP notion that the $34 billion pipeline is languishing through insufficient use. Article content Article content But rather than consult the country’s energy regulator or the national newspapers, perhaps Eby and Sharma were taking their lead from Steven Guilbeault. Article content Guilbeault served as environment minister in the Justin Trudeau Liberal government, where he flourished as a fan of carbon taxation and an opponent of fossil fuel expansion. Article content Carney reassigned him to the Canadian Heritage Department at about the same time as the PM reduced the carbon tax to zero and began talking up the need to expand resource production. Article content It didn’t stop the new heritage minister from wandering outside his lane last month to announce that Canada has no need of more pipelines because TMX was operating at “40 per cent capacity” and the world was approaching “peak oil production.” Article content In the first instance, Guilbeault clearly didn’t know what he was talking about and in the second, there’s much room to debate about when peak oil will be reached. Article content Article content Still, there is a capacity issue regarding the TMX terminal in Burnaby, though not one that involves the pipeline. Article content The terminal is already busy with tankers, having loaded some 741 in the first quarter of the year at a rate that fell just short of one a day in March. But tankers are unable to load fully because of the risk of grounding in Burrard Inlet. Article content The New Democrats have recognized the limitation and come out in support of a federal proposal to dredge Burrard Inlet to a depth that full tankers can traverse. Article content Leading the call is Energy Minister Adrian Dix. As NDP leader, Dix’s snap decision to oppose TMX in the midst of the 2013 election campaign contributed to his loss to Christy Clark. Article content Now that the line is running, Dix supports maximizing its use. “We built it. We paid for it. We should use it,” he says, taking a realistic view of a project that cost him much. Article content Article content Article content

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    This is how Canada’s new GST cuts on home sales up to $1.5 million for first-time buyers will work

    ByStan S.

    Prime Minister Mark Carney is fulfilling one of the key promises the Liberal party made during the recent federal election campaign, specifically relating to eliminating the federal five per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on home prices for first-time homebuyers. “My government has a mandate to bring down costs. We are delivering this mandate by cutting taxes — so Canadians keep more of their paycheques to spend where it matters most,” said the prime minister, with the specific plans for the GST cuts now released following King Charles III’s speech from the throne on Tuesday. This will be applied as a rebate — the First-Time Home Buyers’ GST Rebate. For first-time buyers only, there will be zero GST applied on new homes sold at up to $1 million. For new properties bought at a price of between $1 million and $1.5 million, there will be a reduced GST for first-time buyers and their new homes. This means that for homes priced at up to $1 million, first-time buyers will save up to $50,000 by not having to pay the GST. Buyers with new, more expensive homes will be eligible for a reduced GST rebate, which falls incrementally from home prices of $1 million to $1.5 million. For example, a home price of $1.1 million would be eligible for a 20 per cent rebate of $40,000, a home price of $1.25 million would be eligible for a rebate of $25,000, and a home price of $1.4 million would be eligible for a rebate of $10,000. A “new home” purchase is defined as property bought from a new home by a builder, a self-built home or a self-contracted new home, or an acquisition of shares of a co-operative housing corporation. Individuals are eligible for the rebate if they are adults and Canadian citizens or permanent residents. As well, they must not have lived in a home that they owned or that their spouse or common-law partner owned in the calendar year or in the four preceding calendar years. This existing ownership status consideration exists both within and outside Canada. At least one of the purchasers in a sale must be a first-time buyer for use as their primary residence, with this individual required to occupy the home following the sale. The sale agreement must be made between May 27, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2030. Homes that have yet to be built under the agreement must begin construction before 2021, with substantial completion by no later than the end of 2035. For rebates for owner-built homes, an eligible individual — at least one of the owner-builders who qualify as a first-time homebuyer — can recover up to $50,000 of the GST or the federal part of the rebate. Construction on the property must begin on or after May 27, 2025, with substantial completion by the end of 2036. And as for the rebate through the co-operative housing corporation share acquisition, an individual can similarly claim up to $50,000. The acquisition and construction timelines are the same for this option. This amounts to an adjustment, expansion, and refinement of Carney’s promise made during the election campaign to eliminate the GST on “new and substantially renovated” home sales up to $1 million for first-time buyers. Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre vowed to axe the GST for new homes up to $1.3 million, accounting for the higher home prices in markets such as Metro Vancouver and Greater Toronto. Carney’s policy move is endorsed by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), which states that they have been advocating for such changes for a long while, and that these regulations have not changed since the introduction of GST in 1991. They say the federal government at the time originally committed to adjusting the GST New Housing Rebate thresholds every two years to reflect changes in housing prices and protect housing affordability over time. But these thresholds have not been changed for about 35 years now. Prior to this week’s policy details announcement, the federal government offered a smaller rebate amount of up to $6,300 or 36 per cent of the GST payment that would be required for a home that costs $350,000 or less. 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CHBA wants to see the zero GST threshold increased to new home prices of $1.5 million, with the gradual reduction kicking in for prices between $1.5 million and $2 million, which would expand the eligibility for first-time homebuyers in Metro Vancouver and Greater Toronto, where there are higher home prices. They are also urging the federal government to expand the rebate to all new homes

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    6 Ways to Unstick Windows That Have Been Painted Shut

    ByStan S.

    Credit: Getty Images / Vicki Smith Opening windows that have been painted shut can prove challenging, as dried paint creates a surprisingly strong hold. Whether it was a simple window painting mishap or your home got the “landlord special,” where every surface was covered with layers upon layers of white paint, you’ll need to break the seemingly impenetrable seal that the dried paint creates. To help you get started, this guide explains various methods for opening a window that has been painted shut, along with the necessary safety measures to use. How to Unstick Windows That Have Been Painted Shut To open windows that have been painted shut, you need to break through the paint holding the window shut. While this may sound simple, it can be difficult. Here are a few different effective methods, but you need to choose the one that is right for your situation. For example, if you want to preserve the paint on the window, choose a method that disturbs it as little as possible. 1. Apply Heat A heat gun is useful for warming and loosening the paint bond, which allows you to easily scrape it off the window and remove it from the sash so you can open the window. It can be challenging to pinpoint precisely where to apply the heat, so you should only rely on heat application if you aren’t looking to preserve the surrounding paint. Before using a heat gun, ensure there’s nothing nearby that can be damaged and refrain from using heat on plastic window sashes, as they may warp and melt. 2. Score the Paint With a Multitool Painter’s multitools, such as a 5-in-1 tool, are effective for scoring and cutting out paint that’s holding a window shut, as they’re both strong and sharp. However, the thicker blade might damage the surrounding paint, so choose this option only if you’re looking to replace the surrounding paint. 3. Score the Paint With a Utility Knife If you want to preserve the paint finish while also unsticking the window, scoring the seal with a razor blade or a utility knife can offer the cleanest cut. However, if your paint is old, brittle, or has several layers, it can be difficult to score it cleanly. If this is the case, a heat gun can be effective for warming and softening the paint, allowing you to score it more easily and cleanly. To preserve the paint on the window, avoid applying too much direct heat, as it can cause the paint to bubble and compromise its integrity. 4. Break Deeper Seals With a Putty Knife If you’ve scored the paint along the window sash, but the window still won’t budge, dried paint may have seeped deeper into the sash. To break this invisible paint’s hold, place a thin, flexible putty knife in the gap and lightly tap it with a hammer. Work your way around the window until you’ve fully broken the seal and the window opens. If the window has been painted shut, there’s a good chance it hasn’t been operable for years. To aid in future operation and prevent your window from getting stuck again, apply a spray lubricant, such as silicone spray, to the tracks. 5. Use Wood Shims to Open the Gap As you work your way around the window, slide thin wood shims into the gap to slightly hold the gap open, lightly tapping them into place with a hammer if needed. Be careful not to push the shims in too far, as this may stress the window and could even break the glass. 6. Score the Outside of the Window Still no luck? If you haven’t already, check the outside of the window to ensure it hasn’t been painted shut as well. Window Paint Removal Safety Tips Before attempting to remove paint, take the necessary safety precautions to keep you and those around you safe during the paint removal process. Test for lead paint. Removing lead paint requires a higher level of precaution . Most experts recommend skipping lead paint removal and instead opting for encapsulation, so your safest bet may be to score the paint enough to open the window without removing it altogether. Wear the appropriate safety gear. Whenever removing paint, wear the proper respirator to protect against both particles and fumes. Additionally, wear safety glasses and gloves when working with tools for paint removal. Use caution when scoring paint. Whenever you’re using a blade to score paint, use extreme caution and do so slowly and steadily. Moving too quickly or applying too much force may result in injury or damage to the surrounding materials. Consider masking the glass. When working around windows with hand tools, there’s a risk of broken glass. To protect your windows, consider taping cardboard to cover the glass while you work.

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    7 Things in Your Garage You Should Never Throw Away

    ByStan S.

    If decluttering the garage is one of your house projects to tackle this season, there are a few things you should think twice about tossing. The garage often becomes a dumping ground for leftover building materials, old paint, and items that no longer work, but you don’t necessarily want to get rid of. These things can take up valuable storage room, so a seasonal garage declutter is always a good idea. As you take inventory of the space, consider this list of items you shouldn’t throw away. It includes items that need to be disposed of in a specific way because they are considered hazardous waste, as well as things you could need down the road and would regret getting rid of. 1. Leftover Paint If there are half-empty cans of leftover paint sitting on your garage shelves, avoid throwing them in the trash. Oil-based paints are flammable and can pose a serious environmental risk and fire hazard. Any cans of leftover oil-based paint, solvents, and thinners are considered hazardous waste and need to be disposed of safely. Check your town’s guidelines for hazardous waste disposal—some municipalities have a designated drop-off location for these items while others collect them periodically throughout the year. 2. Materials from Home Improvement Projects It’s tempting to throw out leftover materials once you’re done with a home improvement project, especially if they are cluttering your garage. Whether it’s extra quarter-rounds or leftover floorboards, avoid throwing building materials away as you may need them down the road if something needs to be replaced or repaired. This is especially important if the materials are not standard size and can’t easily be repurchased, if they have been discontinued, or if you had them custom made. 3. Gasoline Cans For maximum safety, gasoline cans should not be stored in a garage that is attached to your home given their flammability. If you have extra containers of gasoline in a detached garage that are old and taking up valuable storage space, don’t just throw them in the garbage can. Because gasoline can easily catch on fire inside your trash can or once it’s in the garbage truck, safe disposal is essential. Drop gasoline cans off at your local hazardous waste collection site, at a recycling center if they accept them, or your local fire station. x 4. Infrequently Used Tools The best solution for a cluttered garage isn’t always to toss everything that’s not used frequently, sometimes it’s just implementing a better organizational system. You may want to throw away tools and garden equipment you don’t use frequently, however chances are you will need to repurchase the tool once you need it again. Instead of throwing these items away, store them on a high shelf or other out-of-the-way location in the garage so they are not taking up prime real estate but remain accessible when needed. 5. Sentimental Items If you have boxes of sentimental items in the garage, don’t throw them out because you may regret it later. Instead, figure out the best way to store the meaningful items so they don’t take up excessive room and are safe from weather-related damage. If your garage is not temperature regulated, transfer sentimental things like photos, old letters, and textiles into plastic tubs or airtight storage bags instead of keeping them in cardboard boxes. This will help prevent moisture-related damage as well as keep pests and odors away. 6. Old Electronics The garage often becomes a dumping ground for old electronics that no longer work. Whether it’s a VCR you haven’t used in decades or a bag of old remote controls, these items waste valuable storage space, but shouldn’t be thrown in the garbage can. Because of their internal mechanisms and batteries that they use, electronics can be flammable and should be disposed of safely. Do a walkthrough of your garage and collect all unused electronics that need to be discarded, then check your local guidelines for safely getting rid of them at a recycling site or other collection center. 7.Light Bulbs Old and extra light bulbs seem to always end up in a box on a garage shelf, wasting storage space that could be used for other items. Before you go ahead and throw them away however, check to see what type of light bulbs they are. If they are fluorescent bulbs or any type of light bulb that contains mercury, they should not be thrown in the garbage can. Not only can they break and the shattered glass cause damage, the mercury content, however small, can be harmful to humans and the environment.

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    Nearly 4,300 properties in Broadway Plan and Cambie Plan areas to be proactively rezoned by the City of Vancouver

    ByStan S.

    The City of Vancouver is moving forward with a sweeping proposal to proactively rezone thousands of properties in the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan areas, as part of an ambitious effort to streamline the development process and boost housing supply near existing and future SkyTrain stations. In next Tuesday’s public meeting, City Council is expected to endorse City staff’s recommendation to refer bylaw amendments to a future public hearing for deliberation and final decision, which would likely be held in September or October — after the forthcoming summer break. This follows City staff’s public consultation beginning in March 2025, when they first announced the proposal. In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized early this year, Josh White, the City of Vancouver’s general manager of planning, urban design, and sustainability and director of planning, also outlined many of these forthcoming changes. More details have now been released. If approved by City Council later this year, this would introduce standardized zoning for low-rise, mid-rise, and high-rise residential buildings — generally aligning with the existing prescriptions and stipulations of the property’s location under the Broadway Plan or Cambie Corridor Plan, while also considering more recent economic and financial viability factors. Generally, R3 zones would allow low-rise apartments up to six storeys — or eight storeys with affordable housing, and a floor area ratio (FAR) density of a floor area up to three times the size of the lot. R4 zones would support mid-rise buildings, typically around 12 storeys and a FAR density of up to 4.0. R5 zones would permit high-rise towers up to 22 storeys and a FAR density of up to 6.5, depending on the proximity to SkyTrain stations and affordability requirements. It is noted that FAR densities will be retained, but a more generous maximum building height will be considered to accommodate a greater range of design approaches due to varying site conditions and on-site public spaces and landscaping. Through such City-initiated rezoning over large swaths of neighbourhoods, this eliminates the need for property owners, developers, and builders to submit an individual rezoning application for their project. Instead, such projects on a City-initiated rezoned site can go straight to the development permit application, which will save applicants costs related to City fees and hiring architects and consultants to achieve the rezoning regulatory step, as well as reducing opportunity costs and added construction costs from inflation as a result of a longer timeline. City staff estimate that these blanket zoning reforms over the qualifying properties will shave 12 to 15 months off the overall development timeline. As well, this will reduce City staff’s time set aside for reports and public hearings with City Council, enabling them to reallocate resources to other tasks and priorities. So far in 2025, rezoning applications in the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan account for about 40 per cent of all public hearings. In sites where a tower form is permitted and complex site conditions also exist — such as tower per block limit policies, building shadowing considerations, and contaminated soils, a “rezoning-to-district” process would still be required. This rezoning-to-district process would be streamlined and shorter than the standard rezoning process. The overwhelming majority of these properties are located within the Broadway Plan area, specifically sites closest to the Millennium Line’s future stations on the Broadway extension, as well as southern areas within the area plan. For the Cambie Corridor Plan area, the properties are clustered near the Canada Line’s Oakridge-41st Avenue Station. In total, the City-initiated rezoning would apply to 4,294 parcels across the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan areas. City of Vancouver City of Vancouver City of Vancouver Over the last few years, the municipal government performed some notable City-initiated rezonings of large single-family neighbourhood areas in the Cambie Corridor Plan, enabling more expedited townhouse developments as already prescribed by the area plan. However, the forthcoming changes are the largest standardized rezoning in Vancouver’s history, and align with the Government of British Columbia’s legislated requirements for the City and other municipal governments. This specifically aligns with provincial legislation relating to transit-oriented development at designated Transit-Oriented Areas and other regulatory changes. As well, through these changes, the City will standardize affordable housing requirements using newly enabled provincial inclusionary zoning powers. Additionally, the real estate industry and provincial officials have called individual site-specific rezoning applications as redundant if the proposed uses and built form are already enabled by an area plan. In addition to aligning with the Broadway Plan and Cambie Corridor Plan, the changes also follow the City’s 2022-approved Vancouver Plan. While there was strong support for the initiative during the public consultation earlier this year — especially for its potential to speed up much-needed housing — concerns were raised about neighbourhood character, infrastructure capacity, and construction impacts. City staff responded by noting that all developments will still undergo design review, and there will still be an opportunity for public input at the development permit application stage. Enhanced tenant protections will remain in place for areas with existing rental housing. A time-limited approach will allow current rezoning applicants to transition into the new zoning framework without redoing tenant relocation plans, as long as they submit development permits within one year of bylaw enactment. Currently, there are about 40 in-stream rezoning applications involving Tenant Relocation Plans within the proposed City-initiated rezoning areas. It is noted that some of these project applicants may withdraw their

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    No, You Shouldn’t Run the Washing Machine While Showering. Here’s Why

    ByStan S.

    Key Takeaways Running the washing machine while showering can reduce water pressure. Both the shower and washing machine draw from the same water line, creating a shortage of hot water. You can adjust your routine or upgrade your system for a better outcome. Doing laundry while showering knocks two things off your to-do list at one time, but is it a smart idea? We’ve all experienced the shocking temperature shift that happens when someone flushes the toilet during a shower—but what happens if you try to shower and do a load of laundry at the same time? We turned to experts for their insights and answers. It turns out, plumbers don’t always recommend multitasking. Here’s what they have to say. Credit: Stacy Zarin Goldberg Multitasking Can Cause Low Water Pressure and Temperature Drops Depending on how your plumbing system was designed, the washing machine and shower might share a water line. “When you step into the shower, and your washing machine is looking for hot water to fill its drum, you’re fighting for the same hot water at the same time,” says Chris Hunter, director of customer relations at ServiceTitan. This is particularly common in homes with 30- or 40-gallon water heaters that are drained quickly when multiple fixtures demand hot water at the same time, says Alex Atkinson, a plumber and HVAC technician at Super Brothers. If your water heater isn’t big enough, or your plumbing doesn’t regulate pressure well, you’ll feel it with cold water, pressure drops, or a totally uneven shower experience.  If this happens often, consider upgrading to a larger hot water heater or a tankless hot water heater; this way, you won’t run out of hot water. You can also consider a pressure-balancing valve in your shower head so that when other hot or cold knobs are turned elsewhere in the house, the pressure of your shower does not change as it equalizes temperature and pressure across all outlets. If you need to run a load of laundry, set your machine to cycle after your shower or run a load of laundry in cold water, which won’t affect your supply of hot water. It Can Also Raise Your Energy Bill “If the washing machine is on the warm or hot cycle, there is no doubt that it is going to be pulling from the same hot water supply that the shower is. That can noticeably reduce the pressure or temperature of the shower. Most importantly, from an energy savings perspective, your water heater is now attempting to recover two draws simultaneously, so it’s less efficient. It may also reduce the lifespan of the unit over the long run,” says Brandon Young, CEO at Payless Power. Related Credit: Greg Scheidemann Pictures What the Experts Recommend Here’s what the pros advise, including one simple fix. • Install a pressure-balancing or thermostatic mixing valve in the shower. That keeps the water temperature steady even when someone flushes or the washing machine runs, says Nick Hendrix, general manager at Kingdom Plumbing. • Install a smart hot water recirculation system with a booster pump to eliminate the waiting, end the waste, and enhance comfort at home. • Check your water heater size. If it’s undersized, you might just be running out of hot water too fast. A tankless unit can solve that for good. • Simply run the laundry after the shower, not during.

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