What Should I Do With My Summer Furniture During Cold Months?
We ask a lot of our outdoor furniture in North Carolina. It has to endure spring winds, scorching summer sun, and fall storms. But come winter, our hardworking summer furniture needs our help. Few Moves Moving Company has a few suggestions on how to show your outdoor furniture some love before retiring it for the winter.
Fall is for Scrubbing Your Furniture
Maybe it’s a chore you don’t relish, but a pretty fall day is the best time to clean your summer furniture before winter storage. You don’t want to be stuck piling up furniture on a frigid, blustery day, only to discover come spring that leftovers stuck between the cushions have grown a colony of critters and mold. A little fall cleaning really pays off next spring.
Start by getting out the hose and a bucket. Aluminum, plastic and vinyl can be scrubbed with hot soapy water and rinsed with the hose. A water and bleach solution is great for canvas upholstery fabrics or any surface showing a bit of mold or mildew. Rinse well. Then let all your pieces bask in the sunshine until they are bone dry—moisture is the sworn enemy of winter storage.
Add a Layer of Protection to Your Outdoor Furniture
Wooden and wicker summer furniture will benefit from the soap-and-water scrub and rinse, too. After they dry, oil or varnish your wood pieces and wax or paint your wicker. These porous surfaces have been standing up to the elements all season and will handle winter’s cold much better with some protection.
Check for rust on metal summer furniture and brush with a metal brush to remove it, then repaint. Rust can grow at alarming rate! Waxes can also protect metal furniture and even some plastics.
Where to Stash Summer Furniture in the Winter
Changes in temperature and weather are hard on your summer furniture over the winter months. Your furniture will expand and contract and be subject to dew in an outdoor situation. If you have space in a dry, enclosed space like a shed, garage, storage unit, or basement, this is the best home for your summer furniture in the off months. It’s especially important for wood and wicker furniture and cushions, if you want to win the war against mildew.
If indoor storage is limited, metal furniture can be covered with a tarp. You’ll want to fasten the tarp securely to keep your furniture covered in a storm, and so you don’t have to chase it down the street when the winter wind picks up.
Next spring, when you pull out your clean, dry summer furniture and set it up, you’ll be glad you took a little time this fall to protect and care for your outdoor furniture before you retire it for winter.
Few Moves Moving Company knows how to care for all kinds of furniture during the winter and during a move. If you’re planning to move soon, call Few Moves at (919) 999-6201 in Raleigh or (910) 512-6999 in Wilmington, NC to discuss how to move your belongings carefully, quickly, and on budget. We’re fully licensed and insured and we take a lot of pride in our work. Call Few Moves today or request a quote online.
