Pool furniture provides your guests and customers with a place to take a break from enjoying the water. Despite being used for only part of the year, poolside pieces can face far more challenges than other types of patio furniture. To keep your pool furniture looking good and staying functional, learn about the common issues these pieces face and how you can defend against them.
Regularly Clean Your Pool Furniture
The best way to ensure that your pool furniture looks new for longer is to regularly clean it. Since it’s outside your furniture is more susceptible to dirt and staining. To prevent more severe damage, you must treat any debris or grime as soon as possible, which is why it’s important to have a routine cleaning schedule.
Before you do anything, check your pool furniture manufacturer’s guidelines for cleaning. Every piece of furniture is different, and some may require special cleaning methods. Generally speaking, you can follow these steps to clean your pool furniture:
- Hose down your furniture with cold water to get rid of any loose dirt.
- Scrub any stains or remaining dirt with a soft-bristled brush and mild detergent and water mixture.
- Rinse the soap residue off with cold water as it can also damage your furniture if left on too long.
- Let your furniture dry at least an hour before using it again.
Repeat this cleaning process as needed or at least once a month to help your pool furniture last longer and look great.
Protect from UV Rays
While the sun may be great for those fun days in the pool, it isn’t great for the nearby furniture. UV rays can wreak havoc on all kinds of pool furniture. Constant sun exposure causes the colors in your patio furniture to fade and leaves them looking old even if they aren’t. These UV rays don’t just ruin your pool furniture’s appearance, they damage its durability. Over time the sun weakens materials like wood, polymers, and fabric, all commonly used for patio furniture. As a result, your furniture becomes uncomfortable to use and eventually deteriorates so much it can no longer be used.
While you can’t fully prevent the sun from damaging your pool furniture, there are certain steps you can take to diminish the effects. First, invest in UV-resistant materials like teak, wood, specific fabrics, or plastics. These types of pool furniture will last longer than others and withstand the sun and its heat. You can also purchase UV-blocking paints or sprays to keep all your outdoor furniture protected. The last, and perhaps most obvious, way to keep your furniture safe from UV rays is to use awnings or umbrellas. These fixtures not only provide some much-appreciated shade, but also block UV rays from attacking your outdoor furniture.
Protect Against Pool Water
Regardless of if your pool has salt water or chlorine in it, both can severely damage your outdoor furniture if left untreated. For example, salt water can slowly deteriorate metal and fabrics as well as make wood rot much faster. Chlorine on the other hand bleaches fabrics, corrodes metal, and weakens plastic. It’s advisable to keep your furniture a good distance away from the pool to reduce exposure to these harmful elements in the water. Of course, this isn’t always possible as pool furniture is meant to be next to these substances all the time. Luckily there are several ways you can treat salt water and chlorine damage on your furniture.
First, you’ll want to try to use pool furniture made of salt water and chlorine resistant materials like aluminum or certain plastics. However, if you can’t purchase these new types of furniture, you can also invest in marine-grade sealants that protect metal and wood from salt water and chlorine damage. Even if you have these tools, you’ll still want to perform regular upkeep to protect your furniture.
Just like in your regular maintenance, rinse off your pool furniture with clean water to wash away any salt or chlorine. You should also cover your furniture when it’s not being used to protect it from not just salt water and chlorine but any kind of debris that could damage your furniture.
Stand Up to Strong Winds
Wind is yet another natural threat to outdoor furniture, especially during storms. Strong winds can overturn your pool furniture which can lead to severe damage that may not be able to be fixed. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to use sturdier pieces of furniture like those made of cast aluminum or recycled plastic. These materials are less likely to topple under strong winds and can withstand various other kinds of extreme weather.
Not all pool furniture is wind resistant, and even the kinds that are won’t always stand up against gale force winds. Try using weighted bases to anchor your furniture to the ground. These weights can easily be added to umbrella stands, side tables, and even the legs of your seats.
Another way to protect your outdoor furniture from wind is by performing regular maintenance on it. At least once a month or before a suspected storm, check your furniture for signs of wear like torn fabric, loose screws and bolts, or damaged parts. Replace the fabric, tighten the screws and bolts, and change the parts that are broken. This will strengthen your furniture, making the wind less likely to ruin it.
Upgrade Your Pool Furniture with New Again
A pool is incomplete without furniture nearby that your customers and guests can use to unwind and relax. However, exposure to the sun, pool water, and wind can be more than your regular maintenance plan can handle. Don’t worry about purchasing all new pool furniture, restore the pieces you already own with New Again. Contact us to learn how we can turn your used pool furniture into stunning like-new pieces today!