Many people tend to forget they have a garden in winter, refusing to open the back door for fear of letting the heat escape. But what does that mean for the garden furniture you have been enjoying all summer? Here are our top tips for winterproofing your garden and ensuring that your garden furniture is ready to use when spring arrives.
"A decision will need to be made as to whether you have enough room to store you garden furniture inside or whether you will need to purchase a protective cover."
- White Stores
Step 1: Before the frost really starts to bite you should get outside and give your garden furniture a clean.
Depending on the type of garden furniture you have this could be a quick and easy process or a little more time consuming if you need to apply treatments. If you have rattan or aluminium furniture, just a quick wash with some soapy water and a rinse with a hose will be all the cleaning needed. However, if you have wood or iron furniture you need to clean the furniture, ensure that it is somewhere it can dry out fully, and then treat the furniture with touch up paint and protective treatment to help see it through the winter.
Step 2: Bring those cushions inside.
Whilst your garden furniture cushions may survive some spring showers, they aren’t likely to fair well in heavy winter downpours so make sure you store them somewhere safe indoors. The best way, we believe, to store your cushions is in a cushion storage bag and then to put that bag full of cushions inside a garage or a shed. This is much safer than just flinging them inside your chosen storage space as it means not only are they kept dry, but they are kept free of dirt and dust, too.
Step 3: Cover it or store it.
A decision will need to be made as to whether you have enough room to store you garden furniture inside or whether you will need to purchase a protective cover. If you do have room to store the furniture in a garage, then make sure it is a dry space that doesn’t build up with damp or condensation as this could be particularly harmful for wooden garden furniture. If you’re lucky enough to have a conservatory then rattan garden furniture would fit well inside and this way you will be able to use and enjoy the furniture throughout the winter, instead of just packing it away.
If you don’t have space to store your furniture inside then you will need to purchase a protective, weatherproof garden furniture cover. If you are planning to cover your furniture it is still incredibly important that you remove your cushions. Leaving cushions under your cover will cause them to sweat and could leave them covered in mildew or mould.
Top Tip: If you’re covering wooden garden furniture it will need to breathe occasionally to prevent mildew, so pick a sunny day and make sure your wood is left in the sunshine before covering it back up again.
If you follow these steps your garden furniture will be clean and healthy, ready to use again in the spring. If you need any further advice on what cover you need for your garden furniture, please do not hesitate to contact our knowledgeable team for advice.
