How To Easily Clean Your Outdoor Furniture

As we approach mid-summer, you've probably been using your outdoor furniture for quite some time now. According to Home Depot, there are plenty of different styles and types of furniture that are designed for use outside, such as patio dining sets, outdoor benches, outdoor sectionals and loveseats, outdoor gliders, and more. This type of furniture can get quite dirty, especially after being exposed to changing weather conditions, garden debris, animals, and insects. If it's been a while since you last cleaned your outdoor furniture, now may be the time.

However, if you're unsure how to clean your outdoor furniture without it being a hassle, HGTV has provided a few easy tips for different types of materials and recommends the best tools to use, which you probably already have at home. These techniques are both cost-efficient and will help your outdoor furniture stay clean during throughout the relaxing warm summer months.

According to HGTV, there's something in your bathroom that is actually quite helpful when it comes to cleaning plastic patio furniture – shaving cream. Shaving cream is an effective cleaner and a non-toxic solvent, making it ideally suited to cleaning the grime off plastic patio furniture, such as tables and chairs. First, cover all the surfaces of the plastic furniture with shaving cream and then let it sit for a few minutes before using a toothbrush to scrub the dirt away.

If you have wooden outdoor furniture that has taken a beating from exposure to the elements, then HGTV recommends using dishwashing detergent. sprinkle dry detergent all over the exposed surfaces of the wood before using a soft brush to scrub off the dirt until it's clean. Once finished, you can then condition the wood with vegetable oil by rubbing it into the surface with a soft cloth.

You may have older outdoor furniture with cushions and upholstery that are damaged beyond repair. In this situation, there are some easy tricks to create your own replacements, according to HGTV. For this hack, you will need a large tablecloth, a stack of newspapers, duct tape, and an oilcloth. 

Take the stack of newspapers, and make sure they are formed to your desired depth before banding them with tape to hold them together. Place the newspapers in the middle of a piece of oilcloth and cut it to the correct size to fully cover the newspapers. Once that is all set, use the duct tape to secure and seal everything together, then finally, wrap the bundle in the table cloth as you would a gift, with the loose ends tucked underneath. If you have other garden projects, you can use the same oilcloth technique to create outdoor pillows or even plant holders.