How to take care of rattan furniture

Being one of very few wide open spaces attached to a house, not to mention one of even fewer where peace and quiet is virtually guaranteed, finding the right furniture for your garden is a necessity. One of the most popular selections is rattan - made out of either bent woven wicker or plastic.

Lightweight sets of this kind have everything going for them, and it's no surprise to see so many cropping up in gardens. Products leading by example are attractive, durable and robust, making them perfect for seating guests outdoors.

Designers of rattan furniture also apply great attention to detail in making sure their products have an uncanny resemblance to seating found indoors, like sofas and armchairs. The key difference here? Products made from plastic are often 100 per cent waterproof, so there's no need to haul anything inside when the weather takes a turn for the worst.

The furniture isn't indestructible however, so you shouldn't be surprised to see a few signs of wear starting to emerge after a few months on the patio. Fortunately cleaning rattan furniture is as easy as pie and only needs to happen once a month. Here's how you can scrub up your set for another night on the tiles...

Kit list

You should get far enough with a cloth, an old toothbrush and a bucket of water mixed with washing up liquid, although arming yourself with boiled linseed oil and lacquer will you allow you to apply a sparkling finish. If so, add a paintbrush to your kit. You'll learn of its use later on.

Cleaning

First fill your bowl with cold water and stir in a few squirts of washing up liquid. You're not attempting to etch huge patches of dirt here so there's no need to use a hot mixture.

Once you can see the bubbles emerging from the top, dip your cloth in them and wipe the rattan gently. Don't adhere to standard procedures by dunking and rinsing - just using bubbles will clean the material without having to soak the product.

The next step is to get into all the cracks where dirt will have built up. Again, bubbles only when scrubbing between each thread, but try using your toothbrush to ensure everything gets reached. Any dry or cracked rattan should be brushed with boiled linseed oil. This will cause the broken thread to dry and harden before returning back to its former appearance.         

Doing this once a month should prevent large stains from damaging the furniture, although there's no telling what the weather can do to rattan that isn't plastic. For thorough cleaning, apply the same amount of detergent but with a little more water than usual. If you keep the furniture in the conservatory (i.e don't usually have it outdoors) use a hair dryer or move it into the garden, preferably into the sun, for it to be dried.

It's then time to put the final touches to your afternoon's work by applying a light coat of lacquer. Dip the paintbrush in and cover gently for the best possible protection.    

Drying time after this process can range from a few hours right up to nine depending on the material used, but always allow sufficient hours for the lacquer to work its way in. Like the old saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.  

Author Bio: Allan Lloyd is a home improvement consultant spends his time searching useful information beneficial to the people. While choosing the attractive garden shrubs items such as hedging, plants & bulbs, he likes to choose and suggest others to go for Garden Oasis from where he has bought his Garden Accessories.

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