It is common practice to look after outdoor furniture in order to extend its lifespan and to provide you with years of comfort and enjoyment. You invest heavily in garden furniture so that you can sit outside during the summer and entertain friends and family in the great outdoors. It is important that you extend your home and make efficient use of your outdoor space, and garden furniture allows you to do that. Investing in protective covers for your garden furniture is therefore essential, and means your outdoor items remain in good condition and are ready to use as soon as the weather turns for the better.
But this raises the question of how reliable are your protective covers? You need them to do an effective job in protecting your garden furniture, but what is protecting ‘them’? Garden furniture protective covers are only effective if they are clean and in good condition, so how is that achieved?
How to clean your outdoor furniture covers
The garden furniture covers supplied by Bags & Covers Direct have a range of qualities which help to protect your favourite items and extend their lifespan. But regular cleaning and maintenance is required so that your covers retain these qualities and keep being effective. This will prevent moisture damaging the covers, stop mould growth and prevent dirt penetrating through the covers and damaging the fabric if left.
- Brush off loose debris – Dried mud or debris such as leaves should be brushed off when covers are removed. If the covers are tightly folded and packed away for storage, this debris could start to cause damage.
- Wash – Any ingrained mud or dirt should be washed off with warm water and a mild soap, maybe a couple of times a year. Don’t use boiling water or harsh cleaning chemicals and don’t scrub harshly on the material. This could damage the protective qualities of the covers.
- Rinse – Make sure the covers are fully rinsed off and completely clean.
- Air dry – It is essential that protective covers are air dried thoroughly before being packed away or re-used. Hang them on a washing line or airer if you can, and never use a tumble dryer.
How to look after your protective covers
Cleaning and drying your protective covers is an essential part of looking after them, but what else do you need to do?
- Don’t over-stack – There is a tendency to stack multiple garden furniture items on top of each other so that covers are more efficient and are covering more items, but if a cover is not designed for these items and this shape, there is a danger of items falling or being dislodged in winds and ripping the cover.
- Don’t over-tighten – This leads on from the above point and avoiding trying to cover too many items. When you tighten covers to try and secure them using the eyelets and bungee cord, the cover material can get ripped, perhaps on the upturned legs of a chair or other sharp edges. Using a protective cover for its designed purpose, and not over-tightening, should avoid this.
- Check for pooling – Even if the cover is working effectively and is covering the items it is designed to, you need to periodically check for pooling. This is where the secured tension in the cover is lost and the cover material sags a little over time. When it rains or snows, water can gather in these recesses and stretch or damage the material. You need to regularly re-tighten the cover and remove any signs of water pooling so that the cover stays as dry as possible.
Following these cleaning and maintenance tips for your garden furniture covers should help retain their protective qualities long term and make them effective protection for your garden furniture.