Garden furniture care for UK weather
Out in all weathers.
Most garden furniture spends the year outside: rain, damp autumns, the odd heatwave. These guides help you work out what your set actually needs, what it doesn't, and when a repair is worth doing.
- Teak gone grey?That might be fine. Silvering is the wood's surface weathering, not rot. Oil is about the colour.
- Mould under the cover?The cover may be the cause. Why a sealed cover keeps damp in, and the simple changes that stop it.
- Specialist cleaner, or washing-up liquid?For most sets, the cheap one. And the materials where it isn't enough.
Wood
Before you open a tin of oil
The label says teak oil. Your table is acacia. Is that a problem? Usually not, but the way the oil goes on matters more than most tins admit.
Which oil for which wood
Teak oil isn't only for teak.
What suits acacia, eucalyptus, iroko and pine, and why most sticky finishes come from how the oil went on rather than which tin you bought.
- Put the stiff brush down. How to clean grey teak without scrubbing away the surface you're trying to keep.
- Three habits that do more harm than any missing product: flooding on oil, bleach on coloured finishes, and covers that trap damp.
- Just bought a set? What's worth having for the first year, matched to what the furniture is made of.
- Oiling in October? Oil needs dry days to cure, which is why an autumn coat often doesn't last the winter.
October to March
Getting it through a British winter
It's rarely the cold that does the damage. It's the damp that never quite dries out.
- Pitch the cover like a tent, so rain runs off instead of pooling on top.
- A sealed plastic box can ruin cushions. Why condensation builds up inside, and better ways to store them.
- Corner sofas are awkward to cover. Tailored versus generic, and how to fit one so water doesn't sit in the dip.
- Mouldy cover? Often it can be cleaned rather than replaced. The one sign that it's finished.
When something goes wrong
Fix it, or let it go?
Some of these are a ten-minute job. Some are the point where a new set is the sensible answer. Each guide tells you which.
- Green again by spring?Why a quick clean doesn't stop algae coming back, and what does.
- Rust back after you treated it?Pitted rust is the usual reason. When a converter works, and when you need to sand and repaint.
- Wobbly table or chair?Check the ground, then the fixings, and don't over-tighten a bolt into a plastic insert.
- A strand of rattan has snapped.A quick flex test tells you whether to patch, re-wrap or call it a day.
- Plastic chair gone chalky and brittle?Which plastic it is decides what's fixable, and why a heat gun can make it worse.
- Broken glass table top?The three measurements to take before you ring a glazier for toughened glass cut to size.
- Cracked cast aluminium?It can be welded, but it's a specialist job with no guarantee. How to decide.
Is it worth repairing at all? The repair-or-replace call, material by material →
Cushions
Usually the first thing to look tired
- Test the colour before you wash. The quick check that stops a printed cover bleeding.
- Mouldy after winter? How to wash and dry the foam so it doesn't break down or smell.
- Saggy, not finished. Restoring support with an insert before you buy a new set.
- Waterproof spray isn't one answer for every fabric. When it helps polyester, and why cotton needs a different plan.
Not sure where to start?
Teak, rattan, metal and plastic each fail in their own way.
The material-by-material overview: what to clean, cover, oil or leave alone.
Free garden furniture care checklist
Independent, research-led guides for UK gardens. Some pages carry Amazon affiliate links; they never decide what we recommend.