How to Care for Your Garden Furniture
Bad weather is the enemy of garden furniture, and unfortunately, as the seasons change, the bad weather becomes more and more frequent. Make sure your furniture survives the winter with these tips to keep it safe and in tip-top condition!
Keep Your Garden Furniture Inside
Most garden furniture will be happier if it’s kept inside over the winter. A lot of summer furniture can be folded up to help minimise storage space, such as sun loungers, deck chairs, and folding tables. It helps to put garden furniture in your garage or shed, if you have room, during the wetter months. If you don’t, it’s worth investing in a plastic shed specifically for this purpose. Some garden furniture, like rattan or wooden, will start to rot if it is left outside in the wet and cold for too long, so moving it inside is the safest option. Any metal furniture or things like BBQs and grills should also be moved inside and cleaned to protect them over the winter months. Cushions and soft garden furnishings should be cleaned and stored inside over winter. Make sure to follow the cleaning instructions and machine wash or wipe down everything, drying it thoroughly, before storing it somewhere out of the reach of mice.
Protect Outdoor Furniture with Special Covers
If you’re leaving any furniture outside during the winter, you’ll want to invest in some appropriate covers to protect it from any inclement weather. Plastic garden furniture will become brittle and deteriorate if left outside in the sun for any length of time – even in winter. Covering this will give it the best chance of surviving the colder months, ready to be used in the summer again. This is the same with rattan furniture. Before covering your furniture, make sure to remove any soft furnishings or seat pads, and make sure everything is bone dry. That way, no moisture will get trapped under the cover before you put it on.
Move it to a Sheltered Position
Whether you choose to cover your garden furniture or not, moving it to a more sheltered part of your garden will help to further protect it from the wind and rain. If possible, move your furniture off the grass and onto a concrete or paved area of your garden, to lessen the moisture from below. If this isn’t possible, make sure to prop the legs of your garden furniture with stones to lift it off the ground, and prevent the moisture from reaching the legs. Furthermore, lighter garden furniture is prone to being blown over and damaged, so moving it into a sheltered spot with prevent the chances of this from happening.