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Summer is approaching and soon it’ll be warm enough to enjoy sitting out in your garden. But your wooden furniture has been hibernating for months over the winter and might have developed a range of issues within that time (including weather damage, mildew, mould and dirt). Or maybe you haven’t been caring for your wooden furniture for years. But don’t worry, with some tlc your furniture can be restored and ready to use in no time.
Wood is a great material for garden furniture as it is strong, durable and stylish. On average, wooden furniture can last up to 50 years if properly cared for (depending on the type of wood).
Before starting your wooden furniture maintenance routine, it’s important to know what type of wood your furniture is made from. Hardwood is stronger and more durable meaning it will last longer and needs less maintenance. However, softwood is a good cheaper option which can also be long lasting but requires more regular maintenance.
We recommend maintaining your wooden furniture at least 3 times a year. The first clean will be in the spring to prepare your furniture for use in the upcoming summer weather. During the summer, you should give your furniture at least one maintenance clean. The final clean of the year will be in preparation for storing your furniture away over the winter months.
But what is involved in cleaning and restoring your wooden furniture? Simply follow these 3 steps…
Step 1 - Preparing your Furniture
Before you can wash or treat your wooden furniture, you first need to remove anything that shouldn’t be on the wood, like dirt, mildew, mould or algae. To do this, use a stiff brush (and gloves) to brush off anything that is ingrained in the wood. Make sure you brush in the direction of the wood grain and regularly check that the brush isn’t damaging the wood. If it is marking the wood, change to a softer brush.
Once you’ve brushed the wood, you can lightly sand the surface of the furniture. This will remove any final bits of dirt, splinters and silver patina to restore the original colour of the wood (unless you’re wanting to keep the weathered silver patina look). Like when brushing your furniture, you should always sand your furniture in the direction of the wood grain and use goggles to protect your eyes from any dust.
The final part of preparing your furniture before washing and treating it is to rinse it with a hose to remove any dust that’s been created by sanding. Never use a pressure washer on your wooden furniture as doing so will destroy the structure and fibres of the wood and can cause cracks and splinters.
Step 2 - Washing your Furniture
You’re now ready to give your furniture a good wash. Grab a bucket and a sponge or soft cloth. We strongly recommend using non-detergent soap (like liquid dish soap) mixed with warm water to clean your furniture. This will allow you to clean any marks without damaging the wood. Alternatively you could use a commercial product made specifically for cleaning wooden garden furniture.
For tougher stains or mildew you can use a solution of water and white vinegar or a mild bleach solution. However, chemicals and bleach can damage the wood so it’s best to first test the bleach on a small hidden area of your furniture so you can see how it affects the wood. When using chemicals and bleach it is important to wear gloves and goggles to protect your eyes and skin.
Whatever you use to wash your furniture, you will need to rinse it off with a hose (not a pressure washer) and leave it to fully dry before moving onto the next step of treating your wooden furniture.
Step 3 - Treating your Furniture
It’s important to protect your wooden garden furniture. But what you use to protect your furniture will depend on the type of wood, how it has already been treated and what look you are going for.
Remember: While treating your furniture, it’s essential to let each layer completely dry before applying the next layer. Then, after you’ve applied the final layer, you’ll need to leave your furniture for a further 48 hours before using.
Furniture Oil
A popular choice for treating wooden furniture is wood oil. This enhances the current colour of the wood rather than changing the wood colour. If your wooden furniture hasn't been treated with varnish or paint, it might need to be oiled. Over time, the natural oils in the wood deplete and need replacing. Applying wood oil to your furniture will nourish the wood and reduce the chance of your furniture cracking. This also protects your wood from weather because, if the wood is properly oiled, not as much water will be able to penetrate into the wood.
Hardwood furniture usually needs oiling every 2-3 years. Want an easy way to know whether your furniture is in need of oiling? Simply place a drop of olive oil on the wooden surface of your furniture. If the oil beads and stays on the surface for a while, the wood doesn’t need oiling yet. However, if the drop of olive oil soaks into the wood, it’s time to apply some wood oil. After applying your wood oil make sure all excess oil has been removed before leaving to dry.
If your furniture is made from dense hardwood, you will need to invest in a higher quality wood oil for it to thoroughly seep into the timber. However, not all wood can be oiled so it’s important to check that your furniture wood is safe to be oiled.
Furniture Stain
Wood stain also soaks into the wood timber which provides some level of protection against weather and mildew. However, instead of enhancing the wood colour, wood stain is made to change the wood colour. This is ideal if your furniture has developed a silver look and you want to restore it to a natural brown colour.
There are different types of wood stains including oil-based, water-based, and gel stain, all of which are ideal for different types of wood. To provide a good level of protection for your furniture, we recommend applying varnish after you’ve applied your wood stain and allowed it to dry. However, it is important that if you’ve used an oil-based stain that you use an oil-based varnish or if you’ve used a water-based stain, you use a water-based varnish.
Like with wood oil, it’s important to remove any excess stain before letting it dry otherwise the wood colour will be uneven.
Furniture Varnish
To protect your wooden furniture, you can add a layer of varnish which will create a waterproof seal on the surface of your furniture. The best type of varnish for outdoor furniture is yacht varnish. As yacht varnish is made to waterproof boats, it is highly durable and will easily protect your furniture from the weather.
Wood varnish is usually clear so won’t change the colour of your wood. This is ideal if you want to protect your furniture while keeping the weathered silver patina look. However, if you want to change your wood to a different colour, you have two options. You can either use wood stain before varnishing your wood (make sure you use products with the same base - oil or water) or you can paint your wood.
Paint
Painting your wooden furniture gives you the option of having a natural wood colour or opting for something more unusual to bring a pop of colour to your garden. However, oiled furniture or hardwood with a high oil content can’t always be painted. This is because garden wood paints are often water based so don’t sit evenly or dry properly on oiled wood. We recommend testing the paint on a hidden place on your furniture first to see how it sits on the wood and whether it properly dries.
Storing your Furniture
Royalcraft Heavy Duty Small 6 Seat Rectangular Dining Set/Mini Corner Dining Set Cover
Once you’ve cleaned and treated your wooden furniture, it’s ready to use. But how do you best protect your furniture when you’re not using it and when it’s time to store it away for winter?
During the summer, it’s likely that there will be days when you’re not using your garden furniture due to bad weather or just because you’re too busy. On these days it’s important to protect your furniture from the damaging effects of the weather, including UV rays, rain, and wind. The best way to do this is to cover it with a furniture cover.
During the winter, the best way to protect your furniture is to store it inside a shed, garage, or summer house. However, if you don’t have any indoor storage space and you don’t have enough outdoor space to build storage space, we recommend moving your furniture to the most protected area of your garden. This would involve moving the furniture off your grass and away from anywhere that tends to get puddles of water.
Whether you’re storing your furniture inside or outside and for a short or longer period of time, we strongly recommend using a furniture cover. But not just any cover will do. To keep your furniture in its best condition, you will need a waterproof and breathable cover. As well as using the right type of cover, you’ll also need to ensure the cover isn’t too tight and has a gap at the bottom to allow air to circulate under the cover. This will reduce the chance of mildew, dirt and dust developing on the wood. To prevent damage to the wood, it’s also important to clean the wood and let it fully dry before storing it away to ensure it stays in the best condition while not being used.
Final Top Tips
- Clean sunscreen, bird droppings, food/drink spills off your furniture as soon as possible as they can leave permanent damage if left for longer periods of time.
- Address cracks in the wood as soon as you notice them. To do this you could use wood glue.
- Do your furniture care in the right weather - dry, not windy, and not too hot or too cold.
- Remove any cushions before cleaning and treating the wood. Check out our cushion storage.
- Does your furniture feel loose? Wood shrinks and expands depending on the weather so if your furniture does feel loose, you may need to tighten any nuts, bolts and screws.