Do you own wicker garden furniture but not quote sure how to clean it? Well, it is not rocket science. Actually, it pretty much common sense. If you keep your wicker patio furniture outside all of the time it probably needs a bit more maintenance. The sun, wind, snow and rain can do a number on it. Here are a few tips to cleaning:

Wash with Detergent – Grab yourself a wet cloth and mild detergent to clean your wicker furniture regularly. Get a garden hose attachment that allows you to spray a fine mist of water over your furniture. Mist your furniture and wash it with your cloth and mild detergent. Scrub hard to get out the hardened dirt and grime. Wash off with the fine mist and let your furniture dry in the direct sunlight.

Vacuum – When you are feeling ambitious take your vacuum and suck up debris to help keep your wicker garden furniture clean. This should be done when necessary or once a month. Penetrate the woven fibers with a brush attachment if possible. Vacuuming is usually safe for all kinds of wicker. Just be careful of super duper or industrial size vacuums. You can damage your furniture.

If you want to purchase teak garden furniture, you may have a hard time locating retailers which carry it. Although it is becoming more popular and easier to find, it may still be harder to find due to the increased cost of the pieces. This means that you should be careful of any furniture which is labeled as teak but is low in price.

What makes teak different? It is a hardwood with a very dense grain. This density alone sets it apart from other wood. The harder it is for water to penetrate the wood, the more durable it is when used outdoors. It also contains resin which increases the waterproof nature of the wood. Unlike most other wood, teak naturally contains silica. This is what makes teak furniture so superior when it comes to resisting mold, fungus and rot.

Most teak is grown in areas such as Burma, Indonesia, Thailand and Laos. Originally, all teak furniture was made from wild trees and this caused problems with deforestation. Now, however, teak plantations have been regulated by government agencies and much of the teak used in furniture comes from these plantations. The one main problem with teak is that it takes in the neighborhood of fifty years to grow and this is part of what makes it so expensive to purchase.