Is your deck ready for summer or is it a dirty dark-stained mess? Here's how to "hit the deck" with a few simple clean-up "solutions." After general swabbing with detergent and water, attack winter wear and residual stains, as follows: For dirt and mildew, apply deck cleaner with a brush, roller or garden sprayer. For leaf stains, spot-scrub with equal parts bleach and water. For algae, mold and moss, scrub with four parts bleach to one part water, and rinse well. For dark tannin stains, use deck brighteners. Clean barbecue stains with liquid detergent or water-soluble auto degreaser -- or even carburetor cleaner. For candle wax, saturate a rag with mineral spirits and cover the droplets. Keep the rag moist, and it will absorb the wax. Tough stuff might even require a bit of sanding. Never work in direct sunlight or on a hot surface when using cleaners and solutions. When you finish, a high-quality sealer with mildewcide will bring out the wood's natural beauty and keep it looking ship-shape! And that's the On The House tip for today.