How to clean patio furniture, cushions and the patio itself
To clean patio furniture, brush or hose off the loose dirt, wash every surface with warm water and a little dish soap using a soft brush, rinse well, and let it dry in the sun before the cushions go back on. Wood, metal, wicker and cushions each need a slightly different touch.
Many patio sets only need two real washes a year: one when they come out in spring, and one before they're put away. Everything in between is a quick wipe.
What do you need?
- A bucket of warm water with a good squirt of dish soap
- A soft-bristle brush and a stiff deck brush
- A non-scratch sponge
- A garden hose with a spray nozzle
- Baking soda
- Oxygen bleach powder, for mildew
- A few old towels or microfiber cloths
Leave the steel wool and the abrasive powders inside. They scratch plastic and powder-coated metal, and the scratches hold dirt for the rest of the season.
How do you clean patio furniture, step by step?
- Clear everything off. Cushions, pillows, the umbrella, anything on the table.
- Dry-brush first. Pollen, leaves, cobwebs and bird droppings come off easier dry. Get under the arms and the table edge, where spiders like to set up.
- Hose it down to loosen what's left.
- Wash with soapy water and a soft brush, top to bottom, one piece at a time.
- Rinse well. Soap left on outdoor furniture turns sticky and grabs pollen.
- Dry it in the sun, or towel it off if rain is coming.
A table and four chairs takes about an hour this way, plus drying time. Cushions are a separate job.
How do you clean each type of furniture?
Plastic and resin
Soapy water handles a lot of it. For gray scuffs and that chalky film white resin gets after a few summers, rub on a paste of baking soda and water with a soft sponge, then rinse. If white resin has gray mildew spots, a solution of oxygen bleach and warm water left on for 10 to 15 minutes does more than scrubbing harder.
Aluminum and powder-coated metal
Soap and water, a soft sponge, rinse and dry. Raw aluminum can get a dull, powdery coating called oxidation; a soft pad with a little diluted white vinegar takes it off. Don't use anything abrasive on powder coat, because once the coating is scratched, it starts to chip.
Wrought iron and steel
Wash the same way, then dry it right away. If you find rust, take it down with a wire brush or fine sandpaper, wipe off the dust, and touch it up with rust-resistant metal paint. Small spots are a ten-minute fix in spring and a full refinishing job if you leave them for a few years.
Teak and other hardwoods
Scrub along the grain with a soft brush and soapy water. Rinse gently. Teak left untreated turns a silvery gray, which is normal and doesn't hurt the wood. If you want the honey color back, that's a teak cleaner and oil or sealer, applied on a dry day.
Don't pressure wash wood. It tears up the surface fibers and leaves the furniture fuzzy.
Wicker and resin wicker
Vacuum it with a brush attachment to pull dust out of the weave, then wipe it with a damp, soapy cloth. Use the hose on a light setting only. Natural wicker should stay mostly dry; resin wicker can take a gentle rinse.
Glass tabletops
Glass cleaner or a mix of vinegar and water on a microfiber cloth. Do the underside too. It catches pollen and water spots that show through from the top.
How do you clean outdoor cushions?
Check the tag first. Some covers unzip and go in the washer on cold. Some outdoor fabrics can handle diluted bleach and some can't. The tag tells you which.
Removable covers: wash on cold, gentle cycle, and air dry. Put them back on while they're still slightly damp; they stretch back into shape easier.
Covers that don't come off:
- Vacuum or brush off the loose dirt.
- Scrub with warm water and a little dish soap.
- For mildew, use an oxygen bleach solution, let it sit for 15 minutes, and scrub.
- Rinse until the water runs clear. Leftover soap pulls dirt back in.
- Stand each cushion on its edge in the sun so the water drains out of the foam.
A cushion that feels dry on the outside can still be wet in the middle. Put it back too soon and you'll smell it in a week.
What about the umbrella?
Open it, brush off the dust and cobwebs, and scrub the canopy with soapy water and a soft brush. Rinse and leave it open until it's completely dry. An umbrella closed while damp mildews in the folds.
How do you clean the patio itself?
Pavers and concrete: sweep, then hose. For green algae or dark mildew stains, scrub with oxygen bleach and warm water using the stiff deck brush, let it sit, and rinse. On pavers, go easy with a pressure washer. A narrow tip blasts the sand out of the joints, and weeds move in.
Wood decks: sweep out the gaps between boards with a putty knife or a thin brush, then scrub with a deck cleaner or oxygen bleach solution and rinse. If you use a pressure washer, keep it on a low setting with a wide tip and keep it moving.
Outdoor rugs: shake them out, hose both sides, scrub stains with soapy water, rinse, and hang them over a railing until they're dry underneath too.
How do you put patio furniture away for winter?
Clean it first. Dirt and pollen left on through the winter are harder to get off in spring, and damp grime is what mildew feeds on.
- Wash and fully dry every piece and every cushion.
- Store cushions inside: a garage shelf, a basement, or a closet. A deck box works if it's dry and off the ground.
- Use breathable furniture covers, not tight plastic wrap. Plastic traps moisture against the furniture.
- Close and cover the umbrella, or bring it in.
- Stack chairs where water can't pool on the seats.
In South Jersey, a fall that ends wet means furniture left out and uncovered comes back in spring with a green film. Twenty minutes of putting things away saves an afternoon of scrubbing.
How do you keep it clean between washes?
- Brush off pollen and leaves before anyone sits down.
- Wipe bird droppings off right away; they're harder to remove after they bake in the sun.
- Tip chairs or bring cushions in when a stretch of rain is coming.
- Keep a dry towel in the deck box for wiping seats after a storm.
Getting the inside ready when people are coming over
Even when everyone eats outside, they still come through the kitchen and use the bathroom.
On a Standard House Cleaning, RoutineCare, the kitchen countertops, sink, stovetop and the outside of the appliances are cleaned, the bathrooms get the toilet, tub and shower, sink, counter and mirrors, and floors are vacuumed and mopped throughout.
Booking online sends a request. Your appointment is confirmed once the details are reviewed and an available cleaning professional is matched.
See what's covered at House Cleaning, and for the inside-the-house version of the pre-party push, see our speed cleaning tips for busy parents.
FAQ
How do you clean plastic patio furniture? Hose it off, scrub it with warm water and a squirt of dish soap using a soft brush, then rinse. For gray scuff marks, a paste of baking soda and water on a soft sponge lifts them without scratching the surface.
How do I get mildew off outdoor cushions? Brush off what you can when the cushion is dry, then scrub with an oxygen bleach solution, let it sit for 15 minutes and rinse well. Check the care tag first, and stand the cushion on its edge in the sun so the foam dries all the way through.
Can I pressure wash patio furniture? Hard plastic and metal can take a low setting with a wide tip held a couple of feet away. Skip it on wood, wicker and cushions, because it raises the grain, breaks the weave and drives water deep into the foam.
How often should patio furniture be cleaned? Give it a full wash when you bring it out in spring and again before you store it. In between, a quick wipe and a brush-off of pollen and leaves before you have people over keeps it in good shape.
Should patio cushions stay outside all summer? They can, but they last longer and stay cleaner if they go into a deck box or the garage during long stretches of rain and at the end of each season. Damp cushions sitting in the dark are how mildew starts.
Book a house cleaning
Book online at tinascleanteam.com/book-now, or call or text (609) 831-4455, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.
