Rattan garden furniture is extremely durable, as we’ve mentioned before, but it still needs cleaning from time to time. How you clean it will depend on a few things, including what type of rattan furniture you have, the season and just general things, like where in your garden it’s located. First up, we’ll explain how to do a basic clean for your rattan garden furniture.
Most people leave their rattan furniture outside on their patios, which will cause dirt and debris to collect in its weaves. This is completely normal and more-or-less unavoidable, but it won’t cause any harm to your rattan furniture, so long as you stay on top of cleaning it. If you leave them to it, dust, dirt and general grime will end up collecting in those hard-to-reach places in your rattan’s weave and cause mildew. The best way to remove dirt and dust is by using a vacuum cleaner. It’s best to use a small brush attachment to make sure you don’t damage the furniture, and to get all the dust and dirt out quickly and easily. However, if you don’t have such an attachment, you could always use a brush with non-abrasive bristles, like a nailbrush or a toothbrush. While that may sound like a terrible idea (or perhaps some shipboard punishment), they’re actually extremely effective due to their size, as their bristles can get into all the little nooks and crannies of the weave.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the dirt and general grubbiness, it’s best to use warm water and a mild washing-up liquid to give your rattan furniture a going over. If your furniture is natural rattan, it’s best to be gentle and not to get it too wet, so just skim the bubbles off the top of your washing water with your cloth, rather than submerging it.
Synthetic rattan furniture is a bit more robust and can withstand more, so you can be a more ruthless with your water. We’re talking hosepipe ruthless. Just make sure that however you clean it, you give the water the chance to drain off. Ideally do it on a windy and/or sunny day to let it dry off faster.
If you have cushions or seat covers on your rattan garden chairs, then you should be washing them on a regular basis. Most covers and cushions are machine washable, but it is always important to check first. Most can’t be tumble dried either, so make sure that they’re fully dry before you put them back on your chairs.
While these are some basics on how to clean your rattan garden furniture, in future articles we’ll be discussing other ways to care for your rattan furniture, including how to protect your rattan and how to remove some of the more troublesome types of dirt, such as mould.