If you’re like me, you didn’t bother to properly store or treat you plastic furniture for the winter. Now you find yourself horrified as you are setting it up in your lawn for spring activities. Rings of dirt and rotting leaves have left the furniture covered and potentially stained. Or maybe you’ve found that squirrels perched on the furniture and cracked open pecans leaving them stained with oxidized oils. There are many options for cleaning you plastic furniture, but which methods work best?
Before you clean, consider one thing, what type of patio furniture do you have. The two major types of plastic furniture are Resin plastic or PVC furniture. While cleaning methods are similar for both, the treating methods are a little different and might surprise you.
Resin outdoor furniture
If you have resin furniture you bought it for two reasons; it’s cheap and it’s low maintenance. There are a variety of resin plastic furniture sets out there in various colors and finishes. Most are smooth and if you are cheap as me it’s probably white as well. Different colors have the advantage of hiding stains much better than white.
If you haven’t bought plastic furniture yet, consider the ease of resin. Also consider purchasing a cover or tarp for winter storage. Make sure you pre-treat your resin furniture with automotive paste wax. Treat your furniture every year after spring washings. This helps to bead water and prevent it from staining.
Top cleaning methods:
- The absolute easiest way to clean your resin furniture is with a water hose. Use a water hose with a spray nozzle or if you don’t have one fold the hose about 2 inches from the end while allowing water out to increase the pressure of the water.
- If dirt or dried leaves have become caked on, loosen it with a bucket of warm water, a sponge, and dish washing detergent. Rinse with your water hose after cleaning.**Warning, if you use any of the bleach options, first test on unseen areas on the furniture to ensure it doesn’t bleach color from the furniture
- If your furniture has become mildew, use a mix of bleach (1 cup), laundry detergent (2 cups), and water (one gallon). Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and scrub with a soft-bristle brush. Let the mixture stay on the furniture 15 minute before you rinse. I also suggest doing this on your drive way if you like your lawn.
- If your white furniture has become stained, mix bleach (1/4 cup) and water (2 and 1/4 cup) in a spay bottle. Spray the furniture down and let set 15 to 20 minutes before you rinse off. Since you are mixing bleach in a spray bottle, make sure you label the bottle to avoid a nasty mix up. I say this out of personal experience.
- If you want to try cleaning without bleach, try using a Magic Eraser. This takes a little elbow grease but it’s very environmentally friendly since you wont’ be using chemicals.
- Another environmentally friendly method is to just let your furniture sit in the sun. This will naturally bleach the furniture over time.
- Although I’ve never tried this method, there are those who swear that baking soda is great for cleaning patio furniture. Simply wet a sponge, dip into baking soda, and then rub over your furniture. Rinse it off after a few minutes.
- My in laws use a product called Simple Green. It’s available at most auto stores and is a natural cleaner so environmentally friendly. This would be good to clean with if you have furniture that’s covered in oxidized oil from the squirrels.
- I’ve also had some co-workers say they use Orange Oil to clean theirs off as well. There are a handful of orange oil cleaners on the market so I won’t recommend which one is better.
PVC Furniture
Most consumers have resin furniture and PVC is typically used commercially. There are also a few who build their own PVC furniture as well. The down side to PVC Furniture is its upkeep. You must store and cover your furniture through the winter or risk ruining the fabrics.
To clean your PVC pipe, mix water (1 quart) and bleach (1/4 cup) in a spray bottle. Spray your PVC and wipe down. For shining the PVC, rub in non-gel toothpaste then buff out with a towel.
No matter the type of furniture, make sure to keep it clean and treat it regularly. Even if it’s just stained, you and your guests will hesitate to sit in plastic furniture if it doesn’t look it’s best. Also, remember to store it in the winter so you don’t waste a day in the spring cleaning pecan oil off your white plastic chairs.
