Maintenance of material
Taking care of your outdoor furniture
3 min reading time
Tips & tricks
Good maintenance of garden furniture
To ensure that your outdoor furniture lasts as long as possible, taking good care of it is important. We use 3 types of materials for our outdoor furniture: wood, aluminium and plastic. The plastic furniture is often a combination of polywood and aluminium.
Wood is suitable for the true enthusiast, because of its natural characteristics, this material is sometimes unpredictable and the most laborious. We have various wooden products, both hardwood and softwood.
When you bring out your wooden garden furniture after a long winter, it is always good to give your furniture a good clean. The cleaner removes dirt on both hard and softwood furniture. It is a bit of a chore, but with nice weather, it is not a bad thing to do. When the furniture is dry again, you can treat it with paint or oil for optimal care.
Soft wood
All our impregnated outdoor products don’t have to be treated with oil immediately upon receipt. The salts and minerals of the impregnation fluid are still working in the wood. After a few weeks or months, you can treat the table or bench with impregnation fluid. You will often see that it is time to do this when the wood starts to look ‘bare’. Make sure your outdoor furniture table legs are not constantly standing in water. You can prevent this by screwing a set of "lift your feet" under the legs of your furniture.
Because wood expands and shrinks when it is outside, your screws and bolts will loosen. It is therefore wise to retighten them regularly. Don't feel like all that maintenance? Buy a good garden cover or place your furniture indoors if possible. Please do not simply throw the protective cover over your table but first read carefully how to use the cover.
Hard wood
Hardwood furniture can be treated with hardwood oil such as bangkirai oil. Please make sure that the table legs of your outdoor furniture is not constantly standing in water. You can prevent this by screwing a set of "lift your feet" under the legs of your furniture. Because wood expands and shrinks outside, your screws and bolts will eventually loosen. It is therefore wise to retighten them regularly. Don't feel like all that maintenance? Buy a good garden cover or put your furniture indoors if possible. Please don’t simply throw the garden cover over your table but first read carefully how to use the cover.
Painted wood
Besides plain wood, we also have painted wood in our product range. An original change from the standard picnic tables are our Curacao picnic tables, for example. They are painted in a beautiful colour, making your garden even more unique. However, it is still wood and, as we know by now, wood works and that also applies if it is painted. Therefore, it is important that you clean your painted furniture regularly with soapy water. If the weather is extremely hot or cold, bring them inside when that is possible. By doing so, you will be taking the best possible care of your table.
Do you not have the possibility to place it inside? Then a garden cover can be a good solution. Don't just throw it over your table, but first carefully read how to use the cover.
Did the extreme heat of last summer cause your wood to crack which caused cracks in your paint? We have several colours of paint on our website so you can repair this easily and quickly. Of course, it is always nice to give the table a facelift after a few years and repaint it.
Aluminium
Do you prefer a low-in-maintenance? Then aluminium is ideal. No need for long cleaning sessions, simply clean the tables with a damp cloth and lukewarm water. Repeat this regularly so that dirt has no chance to attach to the aluminium. Never clean your aluminium table with a high-pressure hose, as this will damage the coating.
Is the outdoor season over? You don't have to do much more than what is described above. Do you have the possibility to store your aluminium furniture inside? Then that is ideal. Don't have that option? Then a garden cover is a good solution.
Plastic
Our plastic picnic tables are made from aluminium frames with a polywood table top and/or seats. As described above, aluminium is very low in maintenance. This also applies to the polywood. Polywood is a kind of plastic with a wood look to it. Maintaining the polywood picnic table is also very easy. Clean the table regularly, with lukewarm water or, what we like to use ourselves, with HG Intensive Plastic Cleaner.
The only disadvantage of polywood is that it can scratch when it comes into contact with hard materials. A simple felt under the glass on the table or a cushion on the seat will prevent this. Never leave glasses in full sunlight on the polywood, they can become so hot due to the “magnifying glass effect” that they cause burn marks in the polywood.
Bear in mind that outdoor furniture is always subject to the effects of weather, regardless of the material. For example, polywood may discolour and slightly warp in the sun, just like any other plastic outdoor product.
Protection!
Protection
A garden cover ensures that your table remains free of all different weather influences throughout the year, that leaves cannot accumulate and that bird droppings do not get on it. A garden cover ensures that you can use your table immediately when you want to.
What is important when using a garden cover is that there is enough ventilation. It is important that air continues to circulate under the garden cover. This is how you prevent mould from forming. By placing an object in the middle of the table top, you ensure that the cover does not completely cover the table. In this way you have ventilation under the cover and prevent mould on the table.
Are you going to cover your furniture for a longer period of time? Then it is wise to remove the cover regularly in order to ventilate well. Can the cover be put back on? Then always make sure that your piece of furniture is not wet or damp. This can also cause mould to develop. Do you still have questions after reading the above information? Then our specialists will be happy to help.