Search:

Home | Home | Gardening


Caring for your Wooden Garden Furniture

By: John Duff

Garden Furniture Scotland expert, John Duff, has a put together a simple strategy which can be applied to keruing, balau or jarrah wood furniture.

As the weather starts to deteriorate, we begin to worry about how to best care for the furniture we have enjoyed using throughout the summer but which, for the most part will stand idle all winter. If possible, you can store your wooden garden furniture indoors during the winter. Many garden furniture sets come flat-packed and so can be stored in the attic or garage – or even under the bed! If it is not possible to store it indoors, you are best to use a good quality breathable weather cover to cover the set.

Do not use a cheap plastic cover as this will be counter productive and will, in fact, cause more harm than good. When using a cover, please be sure to arrange it so that the centre of the cover is higher than the sides so that rain water runs off.

Another common problem which can spoil the look of your garden furniture is when small amounts of sap resin will appear on the surface of the wood. Dark spots may occur if the furniture is placed in the shady spot under a tree due to falling sap and excretions from aphids. Crystallised resin can be removed using a stiff brush. While the resin is still sticky, a sharp knife can be utilized to remove most of the resin and white spirit can clean the affected surface.

Hardwood also protects itself by changing colour to a sliver-grey and this “patina” as it is called is purely cosmetic. Again, it does not affect the quality of the furniture and is not an indication of an inferior product. The exact colour of patina depends on the atmosphere in which the garden furniture is stored. You cannot stop this from happening but you can take some action to limit the effect of the process.

As has already been stated, this patina effect cannot be avoided. However, you can take some action which will help to slow the process. If you would like to maintain the original colour of your furniture for longer, teak oil could be applied once or at most twice a season. This should be applied sparingly with a lint free cloth. This form of treatment will slow the weathering process and could also minimise surface cracks.

Here is the process:

In the sun, you might find that sap will appear on the surface and the sun might cause it to harden. Dousing it in soapy water and then scrubbing it with a hard brush will bring your furniture back to its former glory. Sticky sap can be scraped off and then an application of white spirit can remove any residue. This will help your garden furniture stay looking better for longer.

* Any sap on the table can be scraped off using a small knife

* Remove any dirt which has accumulated by rubbing with a stiff brush and warm water.

* Allow the furniture to dry completely

* Sand any rough areas

* Remove additional sap with white spirit

* Pay close attention to the end of the grain and to the joints

* Wipe of excess oil

* Wipe off excess oil

* Dry your furniture thoroughly before use

NOTE: If the dirt is not removed before treatment, black areas will appear on the surface where the oil and dirt have mixed.

So, if you want your garden furniture to avoid the worst ravages of the weather, then the ideas John Duff of Garden Furniture Scotland has outlined might help.

Article Source: http://www.topicinfo.com

Get more of John’s superb ideas at Articles by John Duff
This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Gardening Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Home | Gardening
Sign Up for a free account or learn more.
Submit Articles
Member Login
Top Authors
Most Popular Articles
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
About Us
Submit Link
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

Powered by Article Dashboard