Good quality outdoor furniture provides a lovely focal point for your porch or deck and creates a comfortable, convenient place to relax or dine. It can also provide you with many long years of enjoyment, as long as you maintain it and properly care for your outdoor furniture.
Maintaining and caring for your outdoor wood furniture will keep it looking beautiful and will make it last much longer. If you give your outdoor wood furniture a little time and attention each year, it will surely provide you with years of beauty and reliability.
- Clean it every year – Sometimes a bucket full of warm, soapy water and a sponge is all it takes to clean the dirt and grime off of your wood furniture.
If your wood furniture is worn, faded and peeling stain or paint, you’ll need to use a pressure washer to remove the ground in dirt and remove any loose paint or stain. It is important to hold the pressure washer nozzle at least two feet from the furniture and continuously move it while cleaning your furniture. Failure to do this could result in splintered wood.
After you have finished pressure washing your wood furniture, let it completely dry and lightly sand it to remove any areas of chipping paint or stain and to knock down the wood’s grain that was raised during the pressure washing process. Use a tack cloth to remove any sawdust and reapply your stain, sealer or paint of choice, making sure to always follow the manufacturer’s directions regarding drying time and the number of recommended coats.
- Take it in, if possible – The best thing you can do for your outdoor wood furniture is to take it in during the cold, winter months. Harsh weather conditions often cause most of the wear and damage to wood furniture.
If you don’t have a covered, protected space to store your wood furniture over the winter, then consider the use of protective outdoor furniture covers. Make sure the covers are waterproof and breathable, and don’t forget about the furniture’s legs. You can often purchase protective, rubber covers for the legs.
The only exception to this rule is if you own teak or cedar furniture. You can certainly take it in and protect it over the winter if you’d like, although furniture constructed of teak or cedar is highly durable and often lasts more than 30 years, even if left outside year-round.
Protect it, Protect it, Protect it - Use an exterior penetrating stain with wood preservatives and mildew inhibitors when staining or sealing your wood furniture. You can even find colored sealers which restore the natural look of many woods, such as redwood. A penetrating stain or sealer will keep out moisture and insects, both of which can quickly destroy your favorite piece of wood furniture. Sealing your wood furniture once a year is usually sufficient, unless you have a softer wood, such as pine, then you may want to consider treating it twice a year.
