For Quick Alerts
ALLOW NOTIFICATIONS  
For Daily Alerts

Looking After Outdoor Furniture

By Padmapreetham Mahalingam

Furniture endows us with comfort but treasuring them from damage requires a lot of care. Whether it's indoor or outdoor furniture, regular cleaning and maintenance is a requisite to retaining the furniture in excellent appearance, and make it last longer.

However outdoor furniture has a tendency to weather away and decay owing to seasonal conditions. Many people love spending a considerable amount of time in the gardens or courtyard to relax and have good conversation with friends or have a good meal, so it's vital to keep it beautiful and clean. Most importantly, to fight against some of the foreseeable havoc like dirt, rot and rust and damage from climatic elements like humidity, sunshine, wind, rain, fog and dust storms, outdoor furniture requires
proper precaution and care.

Looking After Outdoor Furniture

If you want to keep your furniture clean and young for years and protect your outdoor living space from grime, dust, rot and rust, here are few simple steps to follow.

Cleaning is essential
Make sure to clean your furniture regularly. Take a lot of care to keep the furniture in good condition or else there are chances of them getting damaged because of dirt, rot and grime. Outdoor furniture comes in different kinds of materials and it is compulsory to opt for a product that is easier to clean and wipe down. Pick a sunny day to clean. If there are too many stains or grease settled in your furniture; stroke that particular area using sponge, mild dish soap and water. Use the sponge to scrap the grime and hose to wash down any soap residue. Always take out the upholstery and cushions before you begin to clean. Wooden and metal outdoor furniture can be easily wiped down with the help of a sponge. Use a brush or crevice tool on your vacuum to clean into the
crevices of the furniture.

Protect the frames from Sun's rays

Rain, humidity and hot UV radiation from the sun rays are the biggest enemies that can cause major damage to wooden outdoor furniture. UV radiation can fade away the colour of your furniture just like your skin. Protection against these natural elements is important if you want to keep your outdoor furniture looking new. Opt for an outdoor furniture protector, and apply an even coat using a paint brush if your furniture is of metal or plastic. Regular painting is needed to protect the furniture from hot sunny rays. The pigments in the paint are a great way to protect the outdoor wood furniture from ultra- violet rays of the sun.

Protect upholstery
Do you make sure to clean your upholstery on a routine basis? Upholstery can be treated and cleaned using mild soapy warm water. Look over all the pieces very carefully and if you see any kind of stains, treat them immediately. After giving a good wash to your upholstery with a mild soap, make sure it dries up immediately. Spray each of the pieces with fabric protector when the fabric is completely dry. Also double check to see that the fabric protector does not dis-colour the furniture.

Protect the furniture using water repellents

Every day wear and tear and extremes of outdoor weather can take a toll on outdoor living space. Sun and rain can cause some shrinking and few cracks to emerge in the wood. To protect your furniture against humidity damage, apply effective wood stain and water repellents to preserve the original colour of the furniture, and also to prevent water from sinking into it. This lessens extreme decomposing and warping.

Dump your furniture in a shed
It is impossible to predict the weather. During extreme weather conditions, outdoor furniture can cause damage due to heat wave and temperature. It is better to store your furniture in a garage during harsh climatic conditions, especially during torrential rain.

Shield
your furniture with vinyl covers during the night. During winters, if it is not possible to use vinyl covers, then move your wooden furniture into a storage shed.

Use Velcro
A heavy wind can push the cushions away and there are chances of them moving across to the other side. You can keep all the pieces in with the help of Velcro. Keep your cushions of the chair attached with the help of Velcro. Make sure to fasten half of the pieces into the chair and secure the other half with a strip of Velcro on the bottom of the chair
cushion.

Tips: If the hinges of your outdoor furniture have corroded, then try to replace them with rust proof aluminum pieces.

Follow these tips to take care of your outdoor living space from rotting and damage.

Story first published: Sunday, October 6, 2013, 11:09 [IST]
Read more about: furniture