Caring For Yard Benches

A picnic table and a couple picnic benches in your backyard (or just a couple benches in your backyard!) can be a great way to give a comfortable ambiance to that area of your house that is most suited for “pleasant escape.” But if you do not know the proper way to take care of this table and these benches, they can go from being a wonderful addition to your backyard to a huge headache and nuisance in your life!

The first thing you should do, to protect your wooden furniture, is to add some Thompsons Water Seal, as this will keep the rain and the sprinklers from damaging the wood; furthermore, you should consider getting some waterproof covers that you can throw over the table and benches whenever a bad storm is rolling in.

When you do have wooden furniture that gets wet, make sure you leave it out to dry in the sun; water (even with water seal on the furniture) can cause the wood to rot eventually, and you can prevent this by drying out your furniture as quickly as possible.

Another thing that will quickly deteriorate your wooden furniture is dirt, and since you are keeping this furniture outside, dirt will be unavoidable; about two or three times per year, you should hose off your furniture, and then you should scrub the wood with a brush using soap and water before rinsing it off again.

Lastly, it will be important that you keep a close eye on how your furniture is holding up, making sure you sand, stain, paint, and oil your furniture at least once per year to keep it looking great (rather than waiting until it starts to look bad before you begin trying to “catch up”).

By following these tips, you can ensure that your wooden lawn furniture will continue to stay in excellent shape, and it will also continue to look great – providing your backyard with a perfect accent – for as long as you have it!