How to Care for your Garden Furniture!
It should be obvious that the more care you give to your garden furniture the longer it will last. Keeping it clean and well maintained will prevent rot and mildew, which ensures that you don’t waste money and energy buying and transporting new furniture.
Plastic and Canvas Furniture
This type of furniture is perishable and needs to be kept somewhere dry, otherwise they will fade, get dirty and discolour. If left for an extended period of time, they will begin to break or disintegrate. Any floor cushions or cushions used for the furniture should also be kept indoors when not in use. These should be washable so you could put them in the washing machine, or sponge them down with warm soapy water.
If your umbrella has become mildewed, you should wipe it down with a mild cleaning solution of vinegar or even a bit of diluted bleach. You may need to give it a scrub, but remember to wear gloves and rinse the umbrella when you’re done.
Metal Furniture
Metal furniture is usually too heavy to move indoors, so they remain outside all year round. It should be washed with water and a mild detergent, and then rinsed down. Cast iron furniture requires a little more care and attention as it may be prone to rust, so it needs checking over every once in a while. If you spot rust forming then simply sand it down and paint it over. Also, consider investing in covers to keep them safe from water.
Wooden Furniture
Wooden furniture stays outside the whole year too. So to clean up unfinished wooden furniture, scrub the surface with a mixture of water and vinegar. Be sure to rinse it well and wipe with an absorbent cloth to get rid of excess. If you have wicker furniture, even synthetic wicker, then you may need to brush it down with a soft brush and then wipe over, or simply blast with the power washer.
If you have teak furniture then you should clean it twice a year. Ideally you should use teak soap or ordinary household soap and a pressure hose at a low level.
The best way to protect both wooden and metal furniture that remains outside for long periods of time is to use garden furniture covers. They will extend their life by making sure that they don’t get wet and rot or rust. You can find covers from The Garden Furniture Centre Ltd for a wide variety of different types of furniture.
Image from here; Green Living Ideas would like to thank the Garden Furniture Centre for sponsoring this post.
Get the Green Living Ideas book in softcover or PDF for as low as $2.99!
About the Author
Guest Contributor is many, many people. We publish a number of guest posts from experts in a large variety of fields. This is our contributor account for those special people. :D
Related Posts
DIY all natural shaving cream →
Lemon salt face scrub – DIY natural recipe →
All natural DIY liquid laundry soap →
