It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, it’s highly likely that if you’ve got outdoor furniture — you prefer to leave it outside — instead of regularly putting it into storage.
The good news is that outdoor furniture can be left outside, whether it’s snowing, raining, or boiling hot!
But as a caveat, most types of outdoor furniture need some layers of protection if you’re to prevent rusting and moulding, as well as preserve the overall lifespan of your investment.
So join Lazy Susan as we take a look at how to best protect your outdoor furniture.
The type of furniture matters
Different types of furniture have different levels of durability. Let’s take a look at these and how the weather affects them:
Metal furniture
Metal furniture such as the high-grade aluminium furniture sold by Lazy Susan, is the most durable of all and it doesn’t require much protection or maintenance. That said, it doesn’t do any harm to use paste wax that offers a layer of protection against the sun’s rays. This goes for summer and winter.
However, it's important to note that, although aluminium doesn’t rust, outdoor furniture that’s made with iron does. And will need different and additional types of protection.
Wood
Wooden outdoor furniture, on the other hand, requires a different method. To protect it from the sun’s UV rays, you can seal it with a layer of polyurethane. When shopping around for polyurethane, make sure to find one that contains a UV blocker.
Plastic
For plastic outdoor furniture, you’ll need to apply an outdoor furniture protector that's strong enough to protect it from the sun’s rays. Plastic furniture is notoriously among the worst types of outdoor furniture when it comes to dealing with the sun. It can fade quickly (and badly) if you let too much sunlight get to it.
Invest in covers
Whatever type of outdoor furniture you’ve got, it's a smart idea to invest in protective covers. This is the most obvious solution when it comes to protecting your furniture and you can use them whenever your tables and chairs aren’t in use. You can buy patio furniture covers or plastic wraps.
Covers
Patio furniture covers are useful during the winter, and they will stop inclement weather like snow and ice from damaging your tables and chairs.
However, I strongly suggest that you purchase covers that come with breathable fabric, as this will allow some much-needed airflow! In turn, this means any water that gets trapped is given the chance to evaporate.
Plastic Wraps
Plastic wraps are another popular choice. They’re inexpensive but — like patio furniture covers—- breathability can be an issue. In this case, I recommend buying some ropes and using them to secure your wraps.
Secure your furniture to the ground
Some types of outdoor furniture are sturdier than others, which means they’ll stand up to blasts of wind better.
This is certainly true of metal furniture, which you can likely leave outside without anchoring it down first.
In other cases, such as with wood furniture, it’s a smart idea to tie your tables and chairs down if possible. This can be done with deck anchors, for example.
Keep your furniture in the shade
As we mentioned earlier, even the British sunshine is powerful enough to cause harm to your outdoor furniture if you let it run riot.
To increase the longevity of your furniture, it's a smart idea to keep it in the shade as much as you can.
Naturally, you want to be able to enjoy the sun, too. As such, you need a bit of balance. Keep it in the shade when not in use, consider investing in an umbrella, and make sure to apply waxes or whatever is relevant depending on the type of furniture you have (see above).
Take your furniture inside (if you can)
It might not be possible to take your furniture indoors when it’s either not in use or the winter has set in (I get it — not everyone has the space).
But if you can take it indoors, and especially if you have storage space in a garage, I highly recommend you do this. Not only will you be protecting your furniture from the elements, but you’ll also be saving time and money on maintenance.
Final thoughts...
Whatever type of outdoor furniture you have, it’s really important to clean it a few times a year and apply the correct paste wax/furniture protector that keeps it free from rust.
And if you invest in a protective cover of some sort, just make sure that it has breathable fabric and to keep checking for any water buildup. As a final tip, water buildup is bad news for your furniture, as it’s this that will lead to moulding!