Advice on maintaining your Garden Furniture
Yes having teak garden furniture in your garden can really improve the look and the way in which you would use it. However, if you do intend to keep this type of furniture outside through out the year in order for it to last you need to learn how it should be cared for.
Although it is a hardwood making it very strong, it is still very likely to suffer from what the elements can throw at it. The wood in teak is much denser than some others and contains a resinous oil that can extend the life of the furniture. Yes, this oil can help to prevent the wood not only drying out but makes it far more resistant to moisture as well.
Initially you have to make a choice between whether you want to purchase furniture, which comes in its raw state, or one that has been treated using a teak oil. When you first buy your teak garden furniture, you will find that it has a golden color to it. However, over time and when the elements get to work on it, the wood will turn a silver grey color instead.
If you are happy for the wood to turn from a golden to silver grey color then once this has happened there is very little that you actually need to do. However, if you want yours to retain the golden color that it first came with then you will need to be regularly applying teak oil to its surface.
Furniture that will be outside in the garden throughout the year should have a coating of teak oil applied to its surface every six months. Yet even before you can actually apply the specialist, teak oil, you will need to clean the furniture first.
The first that you will actually need to do is mix some mild detergent with warm water and then take a clean lint free cloth soak in the water. Then wring it out thoroughly until the cloth is only damp and use this to wipe the surface of the furniture with. This will help to remove any grime or dust that has built up on the furniture. Once the furniture has been wiped down with a damp cloth you need to leave it to dry before you start applying the oil.
When it comes to you applying the oil to your garden furniture, you should only use a clean lint free cloth to do so. But if you prefer you could use a spray gun instead, but using a cloth will help to spread the oil more evenly over the surface of the wood. Then you need to leave the oil until when you touch it, it feels tacky.
When the oil has got to this stage, you now need to take another lint free cloth (clean one) and use this for removing any oil that is left on the surface. Then about an hour after this, you need to take another clean cloth that you use to polish up the surface of your teak garden furniture.
