It’s that time of year again, finally! The sun has shown its face and we are sure many people around the country are digging out their garden table and chair sets or teak garden chairs from winter hibernation. Now is a great time to be replacing, renovating or cleaning your teak garden furniture in time for the Spring and Summer ahead!
A question that we are asked regularly is, “can I pressure wash my teak garden furniture?” Now, if we are completely honest, there are mixed feelings about this. Some of my colleagues are completely against it and others have done it many times before, so in this latest blog from us here at Ottena we will delve into this topic to hopefully answer some of the questions you may have.
As I sit here writing this latest blog, there seems to be a bright light shining in through my office window, no I haven’t left my car headlights on but it is actually the sun shining! Yes, you heard that right, the sun is shining. It’s around this time of the year that we can start to see the small cues that Spring is here, the daffodils are popping up and the mornings and evenings are certainly becoming lighter. As this happens, we start to think about getting our outdoor furniture back out from its Winter hiding place or pulling the covers off to see what sort of state it may be in. At this point we will see how much cleaning may be required to get those teak patio sets and any other teak garden furniture items you have ready for another, hopefully, glorious Summer.
Grabbing the pressure washer and blasting off all that Winter grime is a very easy option, but hang on just a second, think about what potential damage you could be doing to your beautiful teak outdoor furniture. We are not to say you should not use a pressure washer, but if you do make sure you air on the side of caution by following a few simple tips.
Firstly, it is important that you can adjust the pressure of your washer down to a low setting. This high pressure is what can damage the surface of your teak and strip away the soft surface grain. This will in turn create a rough and furry finish which can make your teak patio furniture look damaged and even cause uneven colouring. Even if you think this is not too bad, the high-pressure water can be forced into the structure of the teak that can then cause damage that may not be visible until it is too late.
The key things to remember if you decide to use your pressure washer is to ensure it is adjusted to a low setting, use a wide spray pattern so the contact point of the water is as large as possible and to always ensure you follow the grain of the teak. Going cross grain can cause the sort of damage that will potentially ruin your teak garden furniture. We all know that teak is quite an investment, so caution needs to be taken if you go down the road of grabbing the pressure washer. If you have managed to damage the surface of your Adirondack chair for example, you can hopefully bring it back with the use of some light sand paper. Using a fine 180-200 grit paper in the direction of the grain will help to remove any “fuzz” created by your pressure washer. Teak is generally a very forgiving timber but like any wooden garden furniture it can be easily damaged if you do not take care.
The best thing to do with your teak patio set is to grab a bucket full of warm soapy water and using a soft to medium scrubbing brush, clean your teak garden furniture, ensuring you do this whilst following the direction of the grain. Once cleaned, rinse off with a garden hose, again ensuring this is not on a high pressure setting directed straight at the fibres of the timber. Once completed, allow the teak to dry naturally, hopefully in the sun! This will remove any dirt or grime that has potentially built up over the Winter months, but if it is still being a little stubborn then a good quality teak cleaner can be obtained to help remove any stubborn dirt. If you do look to get some teak cleaner, and I know this may sound obvious, always ensure that all instructions for application are followed to ensure no damage is caused.
Hopefully this has helped with that ongoing question about attacking your dirty teak patio furniture with a pressure washer. Just remember yes, your pressure washer is a quick and easy cleaning device but it can cause some quite serious damage to both your teak dining furniture, and yourself if like me you have ever managed to get caught in the stream of water! So, please take care in using your pressure washer if you so decide to.
If you have any questions or queries about this topic or about our range of teak garden furniture then please do not hesitate to send them to [email protected] and we will be more than happy to help.
