How to Maintain Your Wicker Furniture

Wicker furniture is popular across the world because it's beautiful and quite inexpensive. It is usually made from different parts of plants that mainly grow in South Asia. Apart from famous furniture made from different types of natural wicker like rattan, cane, bamboo and resin, furniture made from synthetic wicker like plastic is getting quite popular too. It is a perfect choice for decorating interiors as well as exteriors of your home. Proper maintenance can ensure that it will keep looking beautiful for many years.
In order to keep the dust off your wicker furniture, simply clean it by using a soft cloth or pad. You can vacuum clean the furniture using the brush attachment or manually clean it with a soft paintbrush once every month to remove the dirt from deeper areas. It will be easy to clean the hard to reach areas if you use high pressure air.
For more thorough cleaning take your furniture in an open area and dust off the dirt manually or by using vacuum cleaner and wash it carefully with a solution of gentle dishwashing liquid added to a bucket full of warm water by using a soft clean rag or pad. Care should be taken to not to wet the furniture too much. Use another piece of clean and damp cloth to get rid of the soap residue. After this, you can wipe it with a dry piece of clean cloth or a soft sponge in order to dry off the furniture completely.
To clean the wicker furniture off any molds and mildew, you can use the mixture of 2 tablespoons of ammonia mixed in a bucket of water. After getting rid off the dust by vacuum cleaning, place the furniture in an open area and apply the ammonia mixture and immediately rinse it off by using water and wipe off the access water with dry cloth or a soft sponge. You can place the furniture in the sun to dry off completely but don't keep it out in the sun for too long. Too much sun can damage your furniture. In order to make it more resistant polish can be applied to some of the furniture. Apply small quantity of furniture polish. You can do this in the beginning of every season.
You can also apply paint to freshen up your wicker furniture. After cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner simply spray it with an enamel spray paint for uniform coverage. Don't forget to place the furniture in an open area before doing so. Allow it dry for a day and then apply the second coat. If the finish wears off or changes color or becomes dull don't try to strip it off. It can damage your furniture completely. Simply spray paint over the existing surface.
Another thing you can do to maintain your wicker furniture and to make it last longer is to avoid placing in the outdoors where it is exposed to direct sunlight, especially when not in use. Store your outdoor furniture in an area that is climatically controlled. For indoors furniture avoid placing them near the items that produce like fireplaces, wall heaters and stoves. Remember too much water can cause the furniture to rot and too much heat can make it crack, flake and weak.
For more information on wicker furniture, please visit our wicker furniture website.
By Darren W Chow