When the weather turns nice outdoors, no one wants to be cooped up indoors. Adding a patio or deck can extend your living space outside and bring a new dimension to your entertainment venue options.

If you're a homeowner with nothing special outside your back door, you've probably felt the pang of patio or deck envy. You go to a friend's house, and he has an incredible layout in his backyard.

Formulating a homemade deck cleaner or patio scrub is not only simple, but it's often more economically and ecologically friendly than what you find in the aisle of your grocery store. Next time it's ...