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Getting read for Spring – Wooden Furniture

If you have wooden garden furniture, it may be looking pretty tired and shabby as spring rolls round. Next year, try over-wintering it indoors if you can. For this year though, move the furniture inside for a few days – this is the time for its annual scrub with soapy water to remove algae and air pollution, which restores the surface of the timber. All timber eventually turns a beautiful silver-grey colour unless you stain it, and teak and iroko, in particular, can be left without treatment if you want them to weather this way.

When it is dry, sand it down to remove flaking stain or dirt splashes, including bird droppings, and then apply one or two coats of furniture preserver or stain. Try to do this every year - perhaps in the spring when the furniture has just come out of storage and is dry. If the furniture is looking a little tatty during the summer, treat it again using the same preserver. In the late autumn, when there is no more need for the furniture, store it in the garage or shed to allow it to dry out and protect it from the winter weather. If you cannot do this, at least cover the furniture with a waterproof sheet - taking care to allow plenty of air circulation so that the furniture is not damp all winter.

If you have teak furniture and prefer to use teak oil to maintain its rich lustre, ensure that the wood is perfectly dry (not just on the surface) before making the application or the oil will cause the timber to blacken and this cannot easily be corrected later.

Wooden furniture photograph by DarkSideX, used under a creative commons attribution licence

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