If there’s one stark difference between the furniture you buy for the outside of your abode, compared to the inside of it, it’s the impact of the weather and outdoor elements. When left to battle the rigours of British weather, the chance of your outdoor furniture becoming ruined is far greater. With this in mind, treating outdoor furniture so that it is better protected, and thus lasts longer is vital!
Here’s all you need to know about treating your outdoor furniture materials!
Treating Metal Outdoor Furniture
Metal is often used for garden furniture because of its strong and rigid properties and it's recognised ability to twist and turn into some seriously stylish designs. In addition, it tends to be fairly low maintenance. Treating your outdoor metal furniture is important to ensure it remains tip-top for all the barbeques and summer parties you’ll be enjoying this summer!
We boast an extensive range of cool and contemporary outdoor furniture pieces built from malleable metal, from garden chairs to sun loungers! However, although an excellent material for outdoor furniture, it does have the ability to become incredibly rusty over time, something you’ll want to avoid keeping for many years to come. Read on to find out some top tips to treating outdoor furniture to prevent this.
The appropriate initial cleaning is imperative to protect the shine on your metal outdoor furniture. Clean with a cloth or sponge using water and mild, non-detergent soap and wipe dry! If you find dirt has become ingrained into your pieces of furniture use window cleaner or a weak multi-purpose detergent.
Treat your outdoor metal furniture to prevent it from rusting by following these handy hints!
The first way to avoid rust is by simply ensuring your outdoor furniture is kept dry. As well as wind and rain, sticky, warm days can also induce rust, so if you are not using it, we would suggest storing it somewhere dry. Alternatively, you could cover it with a waterproof covering when not being used to avoid it encountering moisture. If it is left in the rain, make sure you wipe it down to get rid of any surplus moisture with a dry tea towel.
An additional solution, which you can treat your outdoor furniture to avoid rusting, is paste wax. Resilient to moisture, paste wax is ideal for this. To apply you will firstly need to eradicate the dust from the metal using a dry piece of fabric.
After that, clean using a damp cloth to remove any persistent dirt. Dry and then paint the paste wax on using a paintbrush, making sure you reach every crevice of the item so that no corner can become rusty. And there you have it, a perfectly prevented piece of outdoor furniture!
The final cheap and cheerful way of treating your outdoor furniture to prevent rust is through the use of grease. Apply one light layer over the item for it to function as a barrier between the metal and moisture. The best thing about this treatment is it only needs to be done once and it will stay protected! You now have zero excuses for why your metal garden furniture is becoming rusty!
How to treat wooden outdoor furniture
When thinking about treating your wooden garden furniture the most important consideration you must make is how would you like it to look after a while of having it? So, would you prefer it maintains its fresh feel and looks identical to the way you originally purchased it, or would you like it to evolve with the weather and develop into a greyish worn colour, typical of wooden furniture left outside? The conclusion to this matter will decide how you treat your wooden outdoor furniture!
Our deck chairs, which are made from beech, a hardwood, which tends to be much oilier than softwoods and inherently last much longer, need minimal treatment. However, for retaining its original colour and keeping it looking as good as new we would recommend using a natural oil wood stain. Stain brings out the grain of the wood piece and highlights any blemishes or flaws, soaking into the wood and providing a natural colour.
For enabling your outdoor wooden furniture to develop naturally, with the elements, creating a greyish tone, even less needs to be done. However, it is important to keep it clean. Cleaning outdoor wooden furniture can be done simply with a kitchen sponge and water, which works perfectly for tackling stains, grime, mould and other bits of bacteria outdoor furniture tends to pick up!
How to treat plastic outdoor furniture
Unlike wood, plastic doesn’t rot, decay, or change in shape, and unlike metal it doesn’t rust, making it an ideal material for your outdoor area!
Many of our outdoor furniture products are constructed from plastic polypropylene, such as our Harbour Houseware Master Sun loungers and Resol Table and Chairs. This is a polymer made for the outdoors, owing to its incredibly durable properties and water-resistant features!
Nevertheless, over a long time, it may start to appear weathered and behold white patches consisting of residue. This is caused by oxidation and unfortunately can’t be removed just by scrubbing it! Read on to find out our top tips on getting rid of the residue.
Initially, you should wash away the dirt; clean it thoroughly, using a bowl of soapy water and scrub it down with a sponge or cloth, make sure you don’t use a scourer as this will scratch the plastic and cause further damage! Once scrubbed, rinse the soapy water with fresh water.
After it's been cleaned, you’ll need to vanish any mould that might be sitting on your plastic furniture with a vinegar and water solution. For every ¼ of water, you will need ¼ of vinegar, once combined, spray over the piece of outdoor furniture you are treating. Allow the solution to sit on the piece of furniture for around 15-20 minutes, before washing down with a cloth, also soaked in the solution, cleaning away any patches of mould that appears to be growing. Once again, rinse down with a hose and voila you should have all oxidation and mould removed from your outdoor plastic furniture!
Make it last by treating your outdoor furniture with Rinkit!
Now that you know how to treat your garden furniture it’s time to get out there, get it rejuvenated, and ready for those long, hot summer days that will be here before you know it!
We hope you loved this garden-themed blog. If you decide to purchase any of our garden furniture, make sure you follow our handy hints and please tag us at @rinkithome on Instagram or use the hashtag #rinkithome we love to see your pictures and videos.
As always, thank you for reading.
Love Helena and the Rinkit Team.