Garden Furniture Care

People have different types of outdoor furniture for their patio, garden or at the pool. There are many options available in outdoor furniture like wicker furniture, wooden furniture and metal furniture like iron, steel and aluminum. The perfect furniture can make a place look inviting and welcoming and make it the focal point of your garden. You need to take adequate care of your furniture if you wish to maintain its original look. The care and maintenance of furniture varies depending on the type of furniture you have in your garden or patio.

People love to have wicker furniture in their gardens. If you have opted for wicker furniture, you must have observed that it gets dirty with dust. You can easily clean your wicker furniture with a hose using a powerful stream of water. You can even use soap and scrub it softly to remove any stubborn stains which are present on your furniture. When your wicker furniture has dried properly, you can apply suitable furniture polish or coat it with a layer of wax. If you have metal based furniture in your garden, you can clean it with soap and water. Ensure that your furniture is rust-free before washing with water. Alternately you can wipe the furniture with a damp cloth and dry it immediately and put it in the sun. If your furniture is not rust-free, it is wise to apply wax on it to prevent it from rusting.

Vinyl based furniture is very popular for pool side use. You can clean your vinyl furniture by washing in a stream of water under medium or low pressure. You can pressure clean your furniture, but do it at low pressure to avoid any harm to the furniture. If your furniture is coated with suntan oil or other such greasy material, you can use mild detergent to clean your furniture. You can clean the furniture with a soft brush to remove stubborn stains from it. You can use household bleach if the stains cannot be removed with detergent, but be cautious as prolonged use of bleach can harm your furniture. If your outdoor furniture has cushions or fabrics, then they have to be washed. Items like umbrella covers, hammocks and chair covers have to be machine washed, dried and put on the furniture again. Certain fabrics are bound to shrink after washing; you can opt to get them dry-cleaned at the cleaners.

If you do not wish to get them cleaned outside, try to put the covers on the furniture when they are somewhat wet or damp. This will ensure that your covers fit on the cushions or chairs without trouble. Any kind of folding furniture like umbrella stands, chairs, loungers etc should be oiled well before storing. Before cleaning furniture it is wise to refer to the cleaning instructions provided along with your furniture and stick to them.