How to take care of wicker furniture

For many years, products woven from the vines, are deservedly popular not only among the owners of country cottages adoring the garden wicker furniture, but also among urban residents of apartment buildings. The owners of restaurants in the open air, bath complexes and ethnic cafes also like to decorate their establishments. These products are beautiful, eco-friendly and charged with special energy, which distinguishes all handicrafts.

What you need to know before starting to clean the wicker furniture

There are many options for caring for wicker furniture, but in order to perform the procedure correctly, you need to apply the appropriate detergents. First of all, it is necessary to understand the materials from which the interior is made.

Depending on the raw materials used, wicker furniture is divided into the following groups:

• products, entirely consisting of rattan or vines,
• wooden products braided as decor with rods,
• combined products, i.e.consisting not only of rods, but also of plywood, chipboard, having some metal or plastic parts, as well as soft seats.

When the type of furniture is installed, go to the selection of detergents and cleaners. For items completely made of natural vine, a soap solution based on shampoo and polish is sufficient.

Wooden furniture elements are put in order with the help of special polishes and waxes. Plastic is cleaned either with means for washing glasses, or with appropriate chemistry.

Soft elements are either removed and cleaned separately( preferably), or simply vacuumed. Let's take a closer look at each of the ways.

Basic rules for the care of wicker furniture

These rules are relevant only if you buy new furniture, in all the rest in the beginning will have to perform painstaking work on cleaning and restoring furniture.

• Wicker furniture is quite negative about moisture, so wipe it off, squeeze well a sponge or rag.
• It dries up under direct sunlight, so always keep it under a canopy.
• In winter store it in a room with a positive temperature.
• If wine, fat or hot coffee has drunk on a table or chair, feel free to wipe the stain or ask the guests about it, otherwise it will probably remain forever.
• For outdoor furniture is required to polish once a week, for home, once a month.
• Do not place hot objects directly on the exposed surface, always use special supports. Vine is rubbed quickly, rattan is even faster.

If the furniture is not treated with varnish, then it must be done by yourself. To do this:

• the surface with a fine construction skin,
• , open the linseed oil,
• apply a varnish.

Follow these simple tips, then wicker furniture will last a very long time and will always please you with its appearance.

Cleaning products

All cleaning products are divided into three large groups:

• sparing,
• restoring,
• chemical.

Gentlemen are made independently, at home. The material for them is either natural ingredients or cosmetic hygiene products. The most famous option is water with a lemon. To make such a washing mixture you need a liter jar of water and half a lemon. Method of preparation:

• boil water,
• allow it to cool for about five minutes,
• lightly press down the lemon and put in a container of water,
• after half an hour pour into glass or enamel ware,
• should be allowed to stand for at least 6 hours.

Advice: to prepare the best before bed, then the sutra infusion will be ready.

Simply squeezing a lemon into the water is not enough, since the most useful trace elements are contained in the cortex and are released only in a natural way.

This mixture processes all kinds of wicker furniture, except for synthetic and soft elements.

Another mixture is prepared from liquid hand soap or shampoo( it is better to use shampoo).A tablespoon of soap is needed per liter.

Restoring facilities include polishes. They can be:

• aerosol,
• creamy.

Aerosol polishes are not always cheaper, but much inferior in quality creamy.

The properties of polishes on a straight line derive from the name. They polish furniture and fill the microcracks, creating an even protective coating. The most important part of quality polishing is the basis. Basics are divided into:

• wax,
• oil.

It is more preferable to choose polish based on wax bases, since they create a better coating. In addition, an important element of any polish - antistatics. These components repel dust and small particles of dirt. As a result, the surface remains clean longer.

The most famous companies are the manufacturers of polishing:

• Pronto( the most famous manufacturer with the widest range of goods and affordable prices, the country the manufacturer Holland),
• Rustin's( Danes are only a little inferior to their neighbors, the main focus is on cream oil polishes),
• Mebelux( Russian manufacturer,products are mainly aerosolized polishes, inferior in quality to competitors),
• Emsal( German tool, it differs in standard quality and quite high price).

Polishing is used after initial cleaning with detergents.

Chemical cleaners destroy the texture of wood and vines, so they are suitable only for washing synthetic surfaces. There is no fundamental difference in the choice, it is desirable that the drug contains alcohol and antistatics. Alcohol dissolves fat, and the surface begins to shine. Suitable for any product for cleaning glass.

In addition to this, there are several more building materials that are used to update wicker furniture. We are talking about hydrolacers. They are practically odorless and dry quickly. Their use is advisable only if the surface is severely damaged.

Important point and means by which care is carried out. For this work you will need a flannelette or a pure cotton cloth, a regular sponge will also suit you. Any other options will scratch the surface.

Cleaning wicker vines and rattan furniture

Most often, for a summer residence or gazebo, garden wicker furniture is bought. Considering the operating conditions, it gets dirty quite quickly. Let's start with wicker furniture from the vine, the process looks like this:

• prepare a gentle tool,
• vacuum,
• qualitatively process each stick,
• walk through the polish.

Sometimes wine or fat drips onto a table or chairs, resulting in stains. In order for them not to exist, they must be removed immediately, in any other case they will be absorbed into the surface. Get rid of them quite difficult. For this, either baking soda or pure lemon juice is suitable. After applying these funds, it is necessary to wash the place of treatment well. When it comes to old spots, you will have to use cardinal means. The stains are erased with the construction skins, after which the surface is varnished.

Wicker furniture made of rattan is much more gentle. Inside this material is porous, so when it is compressed into plates, it becomes like a puff pastry. If you damage the top layer, the entire structure will collapse. Therefore, stains from rattan are not removed. Otherwise, the procedure is the same as cleaning the furniture from the vine.

The modern market offers one more option - wicker furniture is artificial. Since the material of manufacture is synthetic, it is necessary to perform the following actions for its cleaning:

• wipe the surface with a dry cloth,
• should be treated with a glass cleaner,
• should be rubbed with a dry cotton cloth.

The stains of furniture from synthetic materials are extremely rare, it is practically impossible to get them out, but it's worth trying. To do this, use creamy cleaners for the bathroom and the gas stove.

Cleaning of wooden furniture with elements of weaving

For the house they buy furniture with wooden basic and decorative weaving. The presence of wooden surfaces requires more thorough care. Elements from a vine or rattan are processed as well as whole wicker furniture, and a tree according to the following procedure:

• wipe with a dry rag dust,
• put on the surface of the polish and rub it well.

The tree is extremely negative about water in any form, so avoid getting a detergent for weaving on the surface of the base.

The most common problem encountered in cleaning furniture is stains. In order to remove them from the wooden part you need a simple solution that is easy to prepare at home.

• Take a cotton swab, soak it in refined sunflower oil.
• Then into the fine table salt.
• Wait for a few minutes until the salt is slightly soaked.
• Gently polish the stain until it disappears completely.

If furniture has inherited you, there is a simpler option to restore its former beauty:

• treat all surfaces with a construction skin and remove a layer of old wood,
• paint the furniture with a stain suitable for the design of the color,
• open with a water-based varnish.

Cleaning of combined furniture

Additional materials are wood, chipboard, plastic and metal, as well as soft fabric parts, which will be discussed in more detail. Methods for cleaning other materials are described above( plywood care is carried out as well as behind the tree), the metal is resistant to any detergent, so it does not need special care.

As for soft elements, it is difficult to clean them. The easiest way is to walk on top with a vacuum cleaner. But this will only save dust. Spots, spools on the fabric and other defects will remain. To get rid of them use chemical cleaning agents. They are:

• liquid,
• powder.

Powder act directly on the fabric, liquid penetrate the inside of the product. They are used, as a rule, only for disinfection. Professional cleaning chemicals in free sale are difficult to find, so a normal carpet cleaner is suitable. If the upholstery is badly damaged, it is better to order a professional chemical cleaning.

In some furniture, soft parts are easily removed. This allows you to wash them with ordinary powder. If this was not enough, then instead of buying a new chair or chair, perebeyte upholstery. At the same time add silicone or foam rubber, so it was softer to sit.