Outdoor furniture can be a great addition to any home, giving you the opportunity to enjoy your outdoor space as much as possible. Whether you have invested in a full dining set for all those al fresco meals that you enjoy in the summer, or instead just have a day bed to lounge upon on the weekend, keeping these items in top condition is very important.
Whether you buy the items offline or online, outdoor furniture can be a big investment of money. This is especially true if you decide to spend your money on higher quality items, as you will no doubt be paying for the benefits of having well constructed and long lasting materials and designs.
Despite the quality of the outdoor furniture you have bought, however, there are several things that you can do to ensure its longevity and get as much use out of it as possible. Here are a few tips to help you achieve this.
The first thing to do when looking to protect your furniture is consider your particular geographical location and the weather conditions that your items will likely be subjected to on a regular basis. Both sun and rain can cause problems over time, wearing down both natural and synthetic materials and leaving your furniture brittle and damaged.
If you live in a rainy area, consider using a water sealant on your wooden furniture to protect it from moisture. This can still preserve the look of the wood, and is available from many local hardware stores, wherever you are in the world.
The sun can also cause damage, but unfortunately no sun sealant exists on the market! One way to protect from sun damage is to paint your wooden furniture, as this will provide a barrier between the sun and the wood. The downside of this, of course, is that you will lose the natural wood look of your items. There are many attractive looks that you can achieve with paint, however.
There is another solution to protecting your furniture however that does not involve painting it. Wood stains are widely available both offline and online, and outdoor furniture is afforded a significant amount of both water and sun protection if you choose a high quality brand and reapply it regularly, around every two years.
To protect your outdoor furniture, you should also take steps to protect the fabric that covers it, including your cushions, sofa covers, outdoor carpets and any other fabric in your outdoor space. Saying this, there are many high quality retailers on the maker now selling tough, soft and extremely durable polyester covers which will stand up to water and sun damage for a long time.
There are still many things you can do to prolong the life of these fabrics, however, including applying a fabric protector that is especially designed to adding water proofing protection and fade resistant qualities. If you are unsure whether this will work with your particular fabric, check with the manufacturer what they recommended to ensure the longevity of your products.
Finally, the best way to ensure that your outdoor furniture is protected is by storing it correctly, especially when the weather is bad. If items stay outside all year round, despite the fact you use them infrequently, they are likely to experience a great deal more damage and therefore last for a shorter period of time.
With many tips for storing items available via guides online, your outdoor furniture has no reason not be protected through taking adequate precautions. Invest in treating your items with care and they will be sure to provide you with hours upon hours of use and last you for many long years to come.