With the leaves slowly starting to change colors, you know it’s time to winterize your patio pieces. Biting cold, frosty conditions, and snow affect your patio tables, chairs, fire pits, decks, and more. It’s wise to start preparing in advance to ensure little to no damage to your outdoor furniture.
- Although you design patio furniture for the outdoors, winter and fall weather can still damage it in the absence of proper precautions. You need to clean the furniture and apply protective coats and sealants before covering or storing it for winter.
- If it’s wood furniture, its biggest enemy is moisture. If you leave it outside without sealing, moisture will sneak inside the ridges and cracks.
- With a slight drop in temperature, the moisture starts freezing, which cracks the wood. You can prevent this with protective sealants and furniture oil.
- Use ingredients like ammonia, vinegar, baking soda, and warm water to make a mixture. Gently scrub the surface with a rag or soft brush in the wood grain’s direction to prevent scratches.
Thwarting condensation
The most basic thing about waterproof furniture is that you need to whether it’s really waterproof or not. Despite all the waterproofing and the hullabaloo around it, there’s no certainty that your patio furniture will not get wet. That’s why, you need high-quality patio table covers when not using them.
- The basic function of waterproof furniture is to keep moisture and rain out. However, there’s more to it than what meets the eye. Waterproof covers, especially patio covers also trap moisture underneath them.
- The result is that if there’s no airflow, it will lead to the formation of condensation underneath the patio table covers, damaging your furniture in due time.
- The condensation can leave patches and water stains, creating ideal breeding conditions for mold and mildew.
- The problem arises if there’s some dampness in your furniture before you cover it up.
- A very easy way is to go for water-resistant fabric in the place for waterproof material. The former is moisture repellant and keeps its breathability intact.
- It means that the material can trap any water inside while allowing it to evaporate sans any damage to the main fabric.
- It’s important to ensure that you can secure the covers in place. Strong winds can get underneath the furniture covers, ripping them off. Secure them to your patio furniture during the time of installation.
Keeping the cushions dry
Apart from choosing a durable, strong, weatherproof material, you can also consider getting a waterproof filler. Materials like fabrics, polyacrylics, and vinyl are ideal for outdoor furniture. They have the looks of tradition fabrics but can withstand inclement weather conditions.
Use a waterproof and branded silicone spray for weatherproofing your cushions. It protects your pieces from mildew and mold. Choose the spray that’s compatible with your cushions and patio cover material.
Apply the spray if your covers don’t have any weatherproof coating. Apply it after a gentle wash. Ensure a thorough spraying on the outdoors to prevent fume inhalations. Let the covers dry up under the sun.
