With Spring round the corner, we start to peer out of the windows at the garden and start to list the jobs that need doing in preparation. We get asked a lot by customers on how to go about cleaning teak garden furniture and thought we’d drop a few details down here.
The teak used in our furniture is really high quality, so will last outdoors in the British weather for many years without much need for maintenance at all. The teak will silver over the first few months outdoors, which people love, after which it won’t change much at all. The teak can be oiled if the original yellow hue is preferred, but this is really more of a visual element and not required for long life of the furniture.
If furniture lives in an area where it’s under trees or there is a lot of foliage/bird-poop around, a season or two outside may see it get some organic growth make it’s home on the teak (bit of green/moss etc). This is not problem at all and can be gently jet-washed off to return the furniture to it’s former glory.
This set was left under a large tree for a few seasons, before we thought we’d really better give it a clean! As can be seen, the organic build-up is removed very easily and the job is actually rather satisfying! The best way to proceed is to wet the furniture, so the organic material can soften. It can then be gently jet-washed from the teak. You may need a couple of passes, but this will not harm the wood.
These images show how much difference a jet wash makes when the furniture has got to this state. Following cleaning teak garden furniture, let it dry thoroughly and decide if teak oil is required to return a deep yellow hue to the teak, or if a silvered look is preferred.
Any teak oil will do from our experience and is available in most hardware stores / on Amazon! Try and get a spray container, as this helps get the teak oil into awkward spots. Use a small rag to mop up any excess and give the furniture as many coats as needed – you’ll see the oil absorbed really quickly if the wood is dry – it will sit on the surface if it’s saturated.
This process does not need to be done at any specific interval – just when the mood takes you! For reference, this set is 8 years old at the time of the photos! Here’s a link to an entry we did a long time ago, with a bit more detail on cleaning and oiling the teak and a few more photos.
As always, get in touch with any queries on cleaning teak garden furniture (or cleaning anything in fact!).
