Guide to Caring for Teak Garden Furniture

Teak garden furniture can really enhance the features of your garden and provide a relaxing and comfortable location to pass the time. But because the wood from which this furniture is made comes from Southeast Asia if you want it to last you need to look after it properly.

Teak is a hardwood and this is what makes the furniture so it is very durable. Plus this type of furniture will last quite a considerable amount of time because it is a very dense timber and contains high levels of resinous oil within it. It is this oil which actually not only makes the wood resistant to drying out but also from absorbing too much moisture.

Today you can either purchase teak garden furniture in its raw state or when it has been oiled. Furniture, which is still in its raw state when it arrives, will have a golden color to it. However, as time passes and if the wood is left, untreated it will fade to a silver grey color instead.

Certainly if you are after the silver grey look then once the wood has reached this stage there is very little that you will need to do to make sure that it retains this color. However, if you would prefer your wood to retain the golden color of when it arrived you need to start applying teak oil to its surface.

In order for your teak garden furniture to retain its golden color, then one should be applying teak oil to its surface twice a year. The first that you will need to do is actually clean the wood.

To do this you take some warm water (with a mild detergent mixed into it) and then use a soft damp cloth to wipe off and remove any dust or grit. After you have done this, you now need to leave the wood to dry naturally before you actually apply the oil.

When it comes to you applying the oil to your garden furniture, you should only use a clean lint free cloth to do so. But if you prefer you could use a spray gun instead, but using a cloth will help to spread the oil more evenly over the surface of the wood. Then you need to leave the oil until when you touch it, it feels tacky.

Once it is at this stage you should then dry with another clean lint free cloth and this will remove any excess oil on the surface of the wood. The final thing that one needs to do when oiling teak garden furniture is to buff or polish the surface with another clean rug an hour later.

As you can see there are a number of ways to care for and maintain your new garden furniture to make sure it can be used for years to come. The same care can often be effective on other types of garden benches and help maintain the quality of them.