Product Care

Garden furniture comes in lots of different materials, each having different care needs. This guide covers protecting and caring for your outdoor furniture to extend its life.

General care and maintenance

To keep your garden furniture in the best possible condition, we recommend using a furniture cover when not in use and, if possible, storing it indoors during the winter months.

During periods of continued bad weather, it’s always a good idea to bring cushions indoors to avoid any chance of damp or mould building up.

A good clean at the beginning of spring and end of summer will ensure your furniture stays in good condition and looks great all year round.

All-Weather Weave Care

All-weather weave is a popular furniture choice for good reason. It offers the great looks and character of rattan but requires very little maintenance.

Although the weave sections of all our furniture are weather-proof, we still advise using a furniture cover when not in use. This helps keep your furniture free from dirt, dust, and bird droppings – just remove the cover and it’s ready to use!

How to clean
To clean the weave sections of your furniture, use warm, soapy water and a cloth or a soft brush. Rinse off immediately and leave to air dry.

Do not use pressure washers or high-power hoses as they risk damaging the weave.

Ranges in this category: Andorra Deluxe, Everley Deluxe, Coniston, Derwent, Cayton, Leighton, Stamford, Thornton, Brantingham, Leybourne, Buttermere, Glencoe, Stanwick, Walton.

Metal Furniture Care

Metal furniture is a great, reliable choice that looks good year-round and requires little maintenance.

Your Fern Living furniture will have either a naturally rust-free aluminium frame or a steel frame that has been coated to prevent rust. Although this provides a good level of weather-proofing, we advise using a furniture cover when not in use to ensure your furniture stays looking good for as long as possible.

How to clean
To clean the metal parts of your furniture, use either soapy water or car shampoo with a cloth or soft brush. Rinse off and allow to air dry.

As with other furniture, we advise against using pressure washers as this can damage the coating of the metal.

Ranges in this category: Howden, Brimham, Cayton, Derwent, Thornton, Buttermere, Chorlton, Edale, Glencoe, Ripley, Stanwick, Rutland.

Wooden Furniture Care

There are few things as elegant as natural wood. It adds a quiet, timeless elegance to garden furniture, and is currently enjoying a real resurgence.

All our wood is FSC certified acacia that has been pre-treated to help prevent rot.

Part of wood’s charm is that it’s an organic material that develops its own, unique character. Over time, acacia will naturally weather to a grey colour with minor splits and cracks – a natural, expected process.

This weathering can be slowed down by treating with a good quality teak oil or sealer twice a year.

How to clean and maintain
You can use a small amount of soapy water and a brush to scrub away debris before rinsing off and allowing to fully dry.

For the best results, aim to treat your wooden furniture twice a year. To prepare the surface for treating, you can use a very light, fine grade sandpaper to smooth out rough areas.

Ensure the surface is clean, dry and dust free before applying a good quality teak oil with a lint free cloth.

Ranges in this category: Dalby, Ennerdale, Flinton, Mercia, Wykeham, Kielder

Cushions & Upholstery

All our cushions are made with quality, synthetic fibres which do not rot like natural fibres can. To best maintain your cushions, we recommend you avoid leaving them outdoors in wet weather.

If your cushions do get wet in the British summertime, drain excess water by undoing the zip and placing zip side down until they have stopped dripping. You can then either leave in full sun or place on a radiator to dry.
Make sure you allow them to dry fully before storing away to avoid any chance of damp or mould.

We always advise using a cover or bringing cushions indoors during bad weather, and we recommend you keep them inside throughout winter.

Although our fabrics have a high degree of UV protection, prolonged exposure to direct sunlight can begin to fade cushions over time so using a protective cover when not in use is recommended.

How to clean

Clean any spills or stains on furniture as soon as you can. To do so, we advise gently sponging off with soapy water, gently rinsing, and allowing to properly air dry. Avoid scrubbing as this can embed the stain.

For more stubborn stains, you can remove furniture covers and hand wash with a mild laundry detergent. We advise against machine washing.

Parasols

Parasols should always be placed in a parasol base with pole fixed as per instructions.

We advise removing parasols when not in use as wind risks damaging the table in which your parasol sits.

In bad weather and during winter, we advise bringing parasols indoors.

Parasol canopies can be removed and machine washed before placing back the on frame to dry fully open.

Tabletop care

Always ensure the parasol collar is in place around the parasol hole. This ensures the pole does not rub on the tabletop material and risk damaging it.

Glass, ceramic-coated, and printed-glass tabletops can all be cleaned using a good quality glass cleaner and require no other maintenance.

Mosaic tabletops can be cleaned using mild soapy water. We recommended using a good quality exterior tile sealer once a year to help repel moisture ingress in the grout joints.

Where possible, it is recommended you store mosaic sets indoors through winter as extreme cold spells can damage tiles.

Aluminium tabletops can be cleaned using mild soapy water and require no other maintenance.

Polystone tabletops are a composite material that use natural stone and resin for a durable finish with a natural look.

To clean, use a mild soapy water solution, mopping up spills as soon as possible. If required, an exterior stone sealer can be used to maintain its good looks.

Moving your furniture

Take care when repositioning your furniture as dragging it can weaken joints and damage legs.

Always cleanly lift your furniture away from the ground, taking great care with glass tabletops.