Keep Wooden Furniture For Patio and Decks Maintained

The summer is a great time to enjoy the hard work you've put into decorating and furnishing your deck area. It's also the perfect time to check that all furniture for patio and deck use is in tiptop shape. To keep the fun times rolling, you will need to care for furniture for patio setups or else an accident might ensue. Doing yearly checks and performing small amounts of regular maintenance will have furniture looking its best for years, while at the same time keeping everyone safe.

Cleaning and Finishes

Getting a splinter of wood lodged in your hand can be a painful and irritating experience. Try to keep all furniture for patio and deck areas as clean and smooth as possible. This will also ensure the coloration of your wood stays even, and that with a finish it will protect the wood as well. To begin with, you need a clean and even surface to work with. Sand down uneven wood and remove all traces of old varnish. Next, clean the wood of sawdust using a damp rag. Then you will need to clean the wood so that your finish will better stick. You can use a wood safe detergent cleaner or even simply soap and water. After the wood is clean and dry, apply oil or an oil-based varnish. Depending on climate and other factors, you may need to oil wood furniture one to a few times each year. You might also decide instead to paint your wood furniture.

Wood Condition

Because it's kept outside through all sorts of weather conditions, wood furniture will deteriorate. Rain, snow, dew, sunlight, temperature changes and insects all contribute to rotting, cracking and warping of wood. To protect your wood furniture for patio living, there are a few things you can do. After you take furniture out of storage for the summer, do a check of all the wood parts. Check for splintering, cracking and broken pieces. Small cracks and splits in the wood can usually just be sanded down to remove them and prevent them from spreading further. For anything bigger, you will need to replace the wood piece in question, either yourself or professionally.

In addition to regular chairs and tables, you should take extra care with furniture that has moving parts. With porch and patio swings, regular chain maintenance is vital. Replace rusty chains at once, and make sure each side is even to avoid tilted benches and unevenness. With rocking chairs, you should look at the curved rockers on the bottom of the chair legs, as these are the parts that will receive the most pressure. If they break, you're in for a fall. And with gliders, you will need to make sure that the gliding track is regularly oiled to prevent the seat from locking up.

Hardware

Rust isn't normally something you would associate with wood furniture, but it's definitely an issue with all furniture for patio use. That's because most of the hardware that keeps outdoor furniture together is made out of metal, and if it gets rusty or breaks, you could hurt yourself, or even get tetanus. And outdoor exposure, especially with its excess moisture and saltwater, speeds up the oxidation process. If you notice rusty or broken pieces of hardware, replace them at once. When you originally go to buy furniture, ask the salesman about the hardware. It's something that's easy to overlook because it's usually not visible on a piece of furniture, but that doesn't mean it's any less important. Look for zinc hardware that has a rust-resistant powder coating on it.

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