How to clean rattan garden furniture in time for Spring

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After long and cold winter months, spring is finally here and warm temperatures are starting to make an appearance. In the spring and summer months, many descend on their gardens. But if you’ve noticed your rattan garden furniture is looking far from its usual best, read on to find some simple tips to get it clean and ready for barbecue season again.

How can you clean rattan garden furniture?

Ryan Schwarze, Head of Luxury Rattan, said all you’ll need to clean rattan furniture is simple household cleaning items, such as washing up liquid and a vacuum.

Start by removing as much of the dirt and debris from the rattan chairs.

Ryan said: “If you find there is dirt trapped in the weave of the rattan, grab a toothbrush to loosen it, you should then be able to wipe or vacuum it away with ease.”

Once the trapped dirt has been removed, you can get to work on cleaning the furniture.

For this part, you’ll need some washing up liquid and a cloth to wipe the furniture with.

Ryan added: “Fill a bowl with warm soapy water using some washing up liquid and wipe down your furniture gently with a soft cloth.”

Once you have cleaned the furniture, rinse off the soap residue and allow the furniture to dry.

Lakeland Furniture says on their rattan furniture blog post you can use a garden hose to blast away all those excess soap suds.

Lakeland Furniture said: “Use your garden hose (if you’ve got access to one) to wash away all of the suds.

“Make sure you keep your hose at one of the lower, more gentle settings so you don’t put too much pressure on the furniture.

“If you’ve not got access to a hose, you’ll have to pour over buckets of cold water until all the soapiness has been rinsed away.”

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How do you clean garden furniture cushions?

Some cushion covers, but not all, are suitable for machine washing.

So if your cushion covers can be machine washed, follow the laundry instructions for your specific cushion covers.

But if the cushion covers cannot be removed for a machine wash, you can consider using a mild detergent to spot clean them.

Ryan added: “Use warm water with your mild detergent of choice to spot clean non-removable cushion covers.

“A soft scrubber is preferred to work the stain away before cleaning with a damp cloth.

“Excess moisture can be absorbed with towels to ensure that as much moisture is absorbed before leaving to dry.”

When giving your rattan furniture a revamp, make sure you don’t ignore the feet of the furniture.

Ryan added: “Once you have cleaned your furniture make sure you check the feet of your chairs and tables and replace them with new pads if they are scratched or damaged to bring them back to life and improve their longevity.”

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