Caring For Your Garden Furniture

There is no better moment than when your brand new set of garden furniture arrives and you put it together and set it up in your garden for the first time.

Garden furniture plays an important role in most people’s lives. It provides somewhere to sit down and relax at the end of a hard day, and it also gives you somewhere to enjoy an al fresco meal if you want to.

But of course it also has to contend with the weather. From hot summers to frosty winters, with sun, snow, rain and everything in between, it makes sense that you should take good care of your furniture. If you do so you will get many more years out of it.

So let’s take a look at how to do just that.

Looking after wooden garden furniture

There is nothing quite like a garden set made from natural wood. But you do need to take care of it because wood is a living material.

Most of the time a quick clean with soapy water is all that you will need to do. Make sure you hang onto the instructions that come with your wooden garden furniture, because the cleaning methods may vary depending on which wood the furniture is made from.

For example, tropical hardwoods are very oily and are self protecting. This is good news for you as it means you don’t have to do anything! Other woods may be different though, so be prepared to re-stain them or use a restorer that is designed for this purpose.

Garden furniture made from cast aluminium

Provided you keep your cast aluminium furniture in excellent condition, you won’t need to do anything with it. A simple clean with soapy water will keep it looking good and get rid of any dirt, but it won’t go rusty.

Wrought iron garden furniture

For many people, wrought iron is the best thing to have your garden furniture made of. Once again, a quick clean now and again will bring up the finish, but you don’t need to worry about it rusting as this should not happen. Modern preparation means that your furniture is well protected before it even leaves the factory.

Taking care of tubular steel garden furniture

Tubular steel is great for garden furniture as it is hollow. Steel can corrode, but all garden furniture is generally treated to reduce the chances of this happening. Coatings are commonly used to protect the steel, but it is still advisable to make sure you cover the furniture during bad weather.

It certainly won’t do any damage if it gets caught out in the odd rain shower, but we wouldn’t advise leaving it uncovered for the whole of the winter. Put the furniture away if you can, but if not invest in a proper cover.

Covering your furniture for the winter months – or during inclement weather

Garden furniture is used almost constantly during the warm summer months. But once the best time of the year is over and the colder, wetter weather starts setting in, you need to think about covering your furniture up.

Of course, some garden tables and chairs are designed to be folded up. In this case you can simply do this and tuck them away in the garden shed or garage. But even then you should take steps to cover them so they don’t get knocked or damaged in any way.

If you have to leave your garden table and chairs outside, then a cover is definitely advisable. Before you fit it, make sure that everything is completely dry and clean. If there is water on the furniture and the cover sits on top of it, it can cause damp, mould and mildew to form over the space of time.

Ensure you tuck all the chairs underneath the table and then drop the cover over the top of the whole lot. Many covers come with adjustable cords so you can tighten the cover over the top of everything. It’s a good idea to lift up the chair legs and sit them on top of the cover too. This will ensure that not even the strongest gust of wind can get underneath the cover and send it flying.

Protecting parasols and chair pads

It won’t do a parasol any harm if it gets caught out in the rain, although it’s best to try and keep it dry if you can. If it does rain, don’t be tempted to take the parasol down. Keep it up and open, so that it can dry out quickly.

They should never be left out if there is any chance of windy weather, because they can easily be blown over and cause damage to both your furniture and your garden. Not to mention any people if they are standing nearby!

When it comes to chair pads it is best if you take these indoors each night. This applies regardless of what the weather might be doing. Keep them somewhere dry and warm, and then take them out again the next day.

Quite often the best way to clean chair pads is simply to sponge them rather than getting them overly wet. Get any stains out as soon as you can, and remember to turn the seat pads if they are designed in this way, so you can keep them from fading too much on one side.

In conclusion

As you can see, there is a lot you can do to make sure your garden furniture stays looking just as good as when you first set it up in your garden. Much of it is common sense, but taking the time to care for your garden table and chairs will ensure that it lasts much longer as well.

You might want to think about how to care for your garden table and chairs before you buy them too. If you haven’t yet done so, think about what is required for each item so you can be properly prepared. Then you can get everything you need.