How to Maintain Your Outdoor Furniture

Amidst the endless benefits of backyard living, a significant downside is a speck of dirt that affects outdoor furniture. While a few days’ dirt is a small inconvenience, grit may accumulate over time, damaging the quality of your outdoor furniture.

Regardless of the make of your patio furniture, you should always take precautions such as buying covers for all furniture. Waterproof slipcovers can prevent sun, dirt, and water damage and makes seasonal cleaning easy.

If your outdoor furniture is majorly affected by dirt, the following maintenance tips can help.

Maintaining Wood Outdoor Furniture

Cleaning the surface of wood furniture may prove to challenge, but certain cleaning agents make it easy to clean outdoor wood pieces. Start by dusting the surface with a damp cloth before applying a cleaner, such as Murphy’s Oil Soap, for a deep clean.

Segment your cleaning area into small sections to ensure that the furniture is cleaned thoroughly. A flexible toothbrush can make your pieces squeaky-clean, as it excavates dirt from all engraved surfaces. 

Maintaining Metal Outdoor Furniture

The biggest challenge associated with metal furniture is rust or oxidation. Rust can develop on exposed metal surfaces. Fortunately, waterproof covers can protect your metal furniture from dampness caused by regular rains. Make sure that you cover all parts of the furniture, including the feet of tables and chairs.

If you hadn’t discovered the rust early on, you can still reclaim your precious furniture in many ways. An easy option is brushing the orange spots using a water and vinegar mixture. Use a steel wool pad for stubborn rust. Once the orange spots are clean, clean the metallic surface with dish soap. If your pieces were painted, don’t forget to fix any small color chips.

Maintaining Upholstered Outdoor Furniture

The comfortable cushions on your outdoor furniture should always be clean. Begin by checking cloth tags for the manufacturer’s instructions on cleaning the fabric. For instance, you can zip off cushion covers, wipe their surfaces, and launder gently.

For waterproof and synthetic fabric covers, start by wiping the surfaces with a damp cloth to remove dust and dirt. Once dust-free, use a diluted dish soap solution to clean deeply. If your furniture starts developing mold due to continuous exposure to rain, simply scrub the mold with a dry brush and wash according to fabric specifications.

Maintaining Plastic and All-Weather Outdoor Furniture

Plastic and all-weather furniture options are friendly to all seasons, thus the easiest to maintain. To clean these pieces, begin by dusting, then wipe gently with chlorine-free cleaner. Make sure to check all product labels before using them on plastic surfaces. Cleaning with corrosive agents will damage and deteriorate your outdoor plastic pieces.

Endnote

Installing furniture is a great way to upgrade your outdoor space. However, be ready to take care of your outdoor furniture. Besides protecting your outdoor furniture from harsh environmental conditions, you should clean and maintain them at least five times yearly. If your outdoor furniture needs are damaged beyond repair or need new outdoor furniture, D3 Home Modern Furniture can create excellent pieces for your backyard.