Cleaning Teak Outdoor Furniture the Best Way

Cleaning Teak Outdoor furniture is important to avoid dirt and potentially mold. There are a few things to keep in mind when cleaning teak outdoor furniture.

When you have bought an outdoor teak furniture setting it looks great and you want it to look that way consistently. That being said you also wonder how little maintenance you can get away with because you like to do other things on the weekend than cleaning teak outdoor furniture, true?

How often do you need to clean your teak outdoor furniture?

There are a couple of factors that will determine how often you need to clean the furniture:

• is it fully exposed to sun and rain?

• is it located under a tree ?

• do you have issues with bird or bats droppings?

• how much food, wine and oil stains do you produce?

• do you use a furniture cover?

Basically, how long is a rope? How often you will need to clean your outdoor furniture is determined by visually assessing it’s condition, but as a general rule of thumb every 3-6 months.

How do I clean teak outdoor furniture the best way?

Teak outdoor furniture occasionally needs cleaning to remove dirt and to prevent external mould growth. It’s easier to clean it on a warm day and a few thinks to keep in mind

1. First of all it’s very important to thoroughly soak the furniture with water, keep on hosing it for a long time and make sure that the furniture is damp during the entire cleaning process. If you are cleaning on a very hot day, do it in a shady area.

2. Use protective glasses, gloves and a soft bristle brush.

3. You can either use a specially formulated teak cleaner or soapy warm water.

4. Always clean along the grain, never go cross grains.

5. It is hard work so expect that and do it thorough and scrub many strokes rather than start putting too much pressure on the wood.

6. Don’t use a high pressure hose, don’t.

7. Make sure to rinse out all cleaning products.

Get a quote for your teak outdoor furniture setting today.

Par Arnoldson, the founder of Fornya, is a Teak Maintenance Specialist based in Sydney, Australia.