Looking after your teak garden furniture in the winter

With the changing of the clocks in October and the onset of dark evenings, thinking about sitting and relaxing in your teak garden furniture is probably not at the forefront of your mind. It may seem like it is constantly raining at present but thinking about how to protect and look after your teak garden furniture in those long winter months is something that is key to making sure it lasts for many years to come.

As we are not all lucky enough to have somewhere undercover to store our teak garden furniture, it is worth considering either a suitable cover for your teak patio furniture or alternatively treating your outdoor teak furniture to replenish its weather resistant properties and give it greater protection in those longer winter months.

As we all know teak has very good naturally high oil content, making it extremely good for outdoor garden furniture. This will help your teak garden bench, teak table and chair set or teak Adirondack last for many years. With a little bit of care and protection through the winter months, your teak garden furniture will last for years and years to come.

A quality garden furniture cover is a quick and simple way to protect your outdoor furniture from extreme cold temperatures. A proper covering will keep moisture and debris off both the cushions and hard surfaces of your teak patio furniture. This simple protective covering can add years of life to your teak garden furniture and will keep it looking fresh and new for many years to come. A suitable cover for your teak garden furniture will provide protection against dust/debris, extreme weather and the corrosive effect of bird droppings. When looking for a garden furniture cover, one important thing to consider is to ensure that the cover allows good ventilation and air movement around your teak outdoor furniture to limit the onset of any damp or mould onto the surface of your teak park bench, teak table and chair set or teak garden chair. As we all know the weather in the UK can be decidedly inclement in the winter months but please ensure that your furniture cover is not tied tightly arrange your furniture so to limit the air movement so causing damp and mould.

Another advantage of a good quality furniture cover is that it will protect any metal fittings there may be on the teak garden furniture from any rust or damage, which can occur if it is exposed to prolonged periods of rain, snow or ice through the winter months. With the majority of our teak garden furniture, many of the metal fittings (where required) are made of brass, so a good quality garden furniture cover will help to protect these when your teak Adirondack chair, teak Lutyens bench or folding teak chairs are not in use.

When looking for a suitable outdoor garden furniture cover just ensure these two things are something that you consider when purchasing. Firstly, ensure that it is manufactured from a good quality water resistant or waterproof fabric. If the cover allows moisture to get through onto your teak garden furniture, the cover will also stop the now damp teak from breathing so there is a risk this may cause damage to your outdoor teak furniture. Leading on from this, as we have said before, ventilation is key to ensuring your teak garden furniture is fully protected. This will allow good air movement around your teak garden bench or teak table and chair set whilst its in storage and limit the onset of any mould or rot.

Another great way to add even more protection to your teak garden furniture when not in use is to possibly consider treating the furniture with a suitable treatment such as teak oil or a teak sealer. As we have said before, teak has a high content of natural oils so only a light coating would be sufficient. Enough to give protection through those long winter months when your teak garden furniture is not in use and to restore some of the weather resistant properties to the teak. If you do decide to apply an oil or sealer to your teak garden furniture before it goes into storage, please ensure that you follow all guidelines on the product that you are using and ensure that the teak is fully cleaned and dry before applying any oil or sealer. Otherwise, there is a risk that water or dust could get trapped behind the sealant can cause unsightly stains to your teak garden furniture, which we want to avoid!

Hopefully these simple steps will help your teak garden furniture to last for many years so when the sunshine in the spring eventually comes back around, the clocks change and we can once again get outside, your teak garden bench, teak table and chair set or teak garden chair will be ready to go! The last thing anybody would want to be doing on a nice spring evening in the sunshine is removing their stored teak garden furniture from wherever it may be, to then spend hours and hours cleaning, sustaining, and repairing your outdoor teak furniture for the use again. If you decide to use a suitable furniture cover over the winter, you will be able to remove it and enjoy it right away as soon as the spring comes!

Hopefully we have given you some pointers and information that you can use to help you protect your teak garden furniture whilst it is in storage in those winter months. Teak garden furniture is a significant investment and one which with the correct care, will pay off when it comes to getting your furniture back out when the good old UK weather improves.

If you have any questions or require any other information please do not hesitate to contact us at hello@ottena.co.uk and we will endeavour to answer any query that you may have.