How To Care For Wooden Outdoor Furniture

Beautiful outdoor furniture can transform a porch, patio, or poolside into a oasis of relaxation, like a luxury resort. And how do luxury resorts (and discerning homeowners) accomplish that? They start with high quality, commercial grade outdoor furniture, and then they take care of it. That care includes protecting from the elements and animals, and undertaking an easy annual cleaning regimen. Those steps will increase the lifespan of your furniture, as well as reduce maintenance and headaches to near zero. Bottom line, there are four key factors in caring for wooden outdoor furniture:

 

Key Takeaways:

 

• Select high quality weatherproof wood furniture
• Protect from sun and UV with furniture covers
• Avoid excessive moisture (much more important for non-weatherproof furniture)
• Clean & Protect with teak care products

 

Select High Quality Weatherproof Wood Furniture

 

 

The most common reason that a great deal of “outdoor furniture” doesn’t hold up outdoors is that it’s not made from weatherproof, or often even weather resistant, wood! In fact, the biggest source of retail benches and rocking chairs are the “big box” stores such as Home Depot and Lowe’s. Most of those items are NOT made from weatherproof or even weather resistant wood. Instead they use a cheap imported hardwood, finished with paint. Paint will NOT protect a low quality wood from the weather. Not only does paint scratch and wear away (particularly when it’s a thin single coat of paint), but water penetrates into all the joints of the chair, where it rots the wood in a few months.

 

If you plan to use furniture outdoors, make sure you are getting a high quality weatherproof wood, such as teak, robinia, ipe, brazilian cherry, or eucalyptus. If the type of wood is not advertised, then you can be quite confident it’s NOT an weatherproof wood. Weatherproof woods are more expensive and are generally much heavier. Weatherproof woods are also generally much stronger than non-weatherproof woods – robinia, ipe, and brazilian cherry being excellent examples of this. When it comes to weatherproof furniture, you get what you pay for: it may cost twice as much, but it will last 5-10 times as long. Cheap outdoor furniture will only last 1-3 years before breaking – often with you or a loved one sitting in it. Caring for wooden outdoor furniture is a breeze if you start with high quality furniture to begin with.

 

For an excellent example of how to identify high quality outdoor furniture, read How to Find the Perfect Rocking Chair. An example of a manufacturer of super-premium teak is Barlow Tyrie furniture of England.

 

 

 

Protect from Sun & UV with Furniture Covers

 

 

Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays will cause your furniture to fade, and the finish to degrade, over time. This often happens most drastically in the first 12 months of ownership. Even weatherproof outdoor furniture will age in the sun – generally, the color will fade, usually to a gray or light brown, depending on the wood.

 

Sunlight will also reduce the lifespan of “weatherproof” or weather resistant furniture, although over a much longer term. So, to care for wooden outdoor furniture and maximize the lifespan of any outdoor furniture, you should consider lowering its exposure to sun. Consider moving furniture to a porch or garage in the off-season or when you will be away for an extended period.

 

Or, obtain weatherproof covers for your furniture so you can leave them where they are. Outdoor furniture covers, can seem expensive, but they will keep your furniture looking incredibly new for years, and can extend your furniture’s life into 1-2 decades or more. Plus, because they will keep dirt, moisture, bird poop and pets off your furniture, they will reduce your maintenance enormously by keeping them clean at all times! We strongly believe outdoor furniture covers are a smart investment.

 

Avoid Moisture for Non-Weatherproof Furniture

 

 

Moisture damage occurs when liquid seeps into the grain of the wood, causing staining, bubbling, rot, finish peeling, or (in the case of laminated wood), delamination. But high quality outdoor furniture is made to withstand moisture. Most wood, particularly less expensive woods, degrades when it goes through cycles of wet and dry, as rain is followed by sun; winter by summer.

 

These inexpensive, non-weatherproof woods expand and contracts, each time weakening joints and screws. This can be particularly challenging where there is extreme heat – hello, Arizona and Colorado! Furniture in coastal areas is subject to the sea breeze, and that salt can also have a deteriorating effect on wood and finish. So – hopefully you chose premium weatherproof furniture, and if so, moisture is not a big issue. And again, consider furniture covers for your high quality outdoor furniture, which of course reduce moisture and water-related damage to the furniture and cushions when you’re not using them.

 

Clean and Protect with Teak Care Products

 

 

Step 1 – clean it!

 

Any wood will weather over time and accumulate dirt and grime. An annual practice of cleaning outdoor furniture is very important to keeping your furniture looking great and lasting longer. At a minimum, use soap and water to do this annual cleaning – although you will get better results with professional wood care products. The best cleaning and protecting products for outdoor furniture are “teak care products“. 

 

Have no fear, they work on any wood, not just teak! But because teak is so expensive and popular as a wood for premium outdoor furniture, companies that sell teak furniture almost always also sell wood cleaning products. But they will work for any outdoor wood, including also brazilian cherry, robinia, eucalyptus, acacia, etc. So again, whether you make your own, or buy a professional teak cleaner, the first step is to clean it – every year!

 

Step 2 – protect it! (note: this is optional if you don’t mind the gradual fading of the wood over time – it’s largely an aesthetic choice)

 

There are two ways of protecting your cleaned outdoor furniture: one is with a “protector” product, and the other is with an oil (and remember, a third way is just to clean it each year without doing anything else!)

 

Protecting Outdoor Furniture with Teak Protector

 

 

The best way to keep outdoor furniture looking great and to retain its original new color longer is to annually apply a teak protector product after your annual cleaning. The best such products are water based, which makes them safer to use, easy to clean up, and better for pets and the environment. It’s not necessary to use a protector unless you want to maintain that new look. To apply, first wait for the furniture to fully dry after your cleaning. Then, apply the protector with a good cloth – usually, quality teak protector is sold with a cloth that works well due to its absorbance and smoothness, which make the liquid easier to spread over the surface. Use sparingly and try to maintain an even coverage. Like all products you apply to quality furniture, test a small spot underneath – and wait for it to dry – so you’ll know what the product will look like.

 

Protecting Outdoor Furniture with Teak Oil

 

Often you will hear people recommending to apply oil (often linseed oil or “teak oil”) to outdoor furniture, in an effort to maintain the look of new furniture. This has drawbacks, including increased maintenance, which we’ll discuss in the next paragraph. But here’s how to do it: Wait until the wood is dry from your cleaning, and then apply the oil evenly with a rag. Usually one coat is enough, but follow the directions on the bottle. Don’t sit on the furniture until it’s dry and you’ve wiped it off! That oil can stain your clothes. Teak oil will give a deep luster and darkness (often a redness or orangeness) to the wood, which can last for many months, and hopefully a year until the next time you clean and oil your furniture. But…

 

Pro Tip – the Downside to Teak Oil – Grime Buildup

 

The only problem with teak oil is that it tends to “attract” dirt and grime. The dust and such in your environment, and pollution in the air, which always settles onto your furniture, will tend to stick to oiled furniture more than untreated furniture, or furniture treated with a “protector product”. In addition, oiled furniture can attract mildew or mold, which can be persistent because of continuing moisture of the oiled surface. And all of that can mean a tougher cleaning job the following year, and for those reasons we actually don’t recommend that you oil outdoor furniture.

 

Summary

 

I hope these tips are useful in how to care for wooden outdoor furniture. Remember, the weather is merciless! Start with high quality furniture made from high quality wood. Then, extend its life by covering it or taking it away from the elements for extended periods of disuse. Remember, even the best “weatherproof furniture” WILL fade and eventually degrade outside (not to mention just get dirty so you have to clean it) – so investing in high quality furniture covers will ensure your furniture needs almost no maintenance and still looks new for YEARS after you invest in it. And finally, be sure to annually clean and protect any outdoor furniture that will remain exposed to the elements. We recommend a quality water based outdoor wood (“teak”) cleaner, and then, if you want to maintain that new color, a coat of teak protector. 

 

You made the right decision by buying premium outdoor furniture – it’s not cheap! But it will last for generations, if you take these easy steps to protect it! Like your house or car, treat it as an investment – you will be glad you did.