"Let's take a look at the impact outdoor elements have on our wood furniture, plus we'll uncover a few hints and guidelines on cleaning and using protectant solutions to maximize the life of your cherished wooden backyard or patio furniture."

Replacing your outdoor furniture with a brand new set of wood patio, deck or garden furniture can feel as satisfying as overhauling a bedroom or kitchen, and you might feel that if your furniture was shipped yesterday, it still won't be quick enough. Naturally, a primary concern that can dominate your awareness is how to keep your newly purchased furniture - or your existing furniture - in as excellent shape as possible. While research scientists are busy at work coming up with futuristic self-cleaning wood furniture, let's discuss now what you can do yourself to maximize the life of your cherished wooden backyard or patio furniture.

This article primarily covers background and provides some brief education on the impact outdoor elements have on our wood furniture and concludes with hints and guidelines on cleaning and using protectant solutions.

What comes to mind immediately is the concern of exposure of rain or snow to wood furniture. Obviously, the utmost importance is to maintain awareness of the weather patterns in your particular locale.

The Underestimation of Moisture's Effects
Although water in either form of liquid or vapor (moisture) both have their own unique taxing effects on wood furniture, home owners may have a tendency to treat the effects of moisture lightly. Using an outdoor shed or a temporarily constructed overhead built with tarp may provide a false sense of protection. If those methods are used, pay close attention to shrinking and swelling taking place with your furniture. This leaves clues as to whether you are leaving your furniture vulnerable to the degrading results of moisture exposure. Consider three categories of "dryness levels":

1. Totally Dry.
2. Exposed to moisture, or water, but not yet reached the "fiber" saturation point..
3. Fiber Saturation and beyond

Protecting Against Water
As we know, like moisture, liquid water from rain or other source can of course affect any of the above categories concerning dryness levels. Unlike moisture, water will cause the wood to reach fiber saturation very rapidly. Problems with the breakdown of the wood's internal structure is the unfortunate result. You end up with furniture that loses its strength and this equates to a chair or bench that you can't trust as much, or rely on as much as the day of purchase.

When wood is near fiber saturation point (3.), what you have is decay (otherwise known as rot) affecting the full volume of wood. Decay is degradation caused by various kinds of decay fungi capable of breaking down the structural components of wood for food. The strength of wood comes from polymers which form the wood cells. Thus, if the wood is brought directly and quickly into that fiber saturation point and beyond, via rain or other liquid water, considerable loss of strength occurs before visible damage is even apparent. The suggestion to use waterproof covers bears repeating here.

Weathering
Weathering involves a degradation of the wood's surface caused by the combined effects of the UV radiation of the sunlight, water and abrasion by sand and other granule particles.It is different than the decay of wood described below, and there are ways of identifying the first stages of this process.

The first stage is color change of the wood. With redwood or cedar, the color becomes light, and with lighter woods such as pine and fir, the tendency is for the wood to become darker. The next stage involves erosion of the wood surface and loosening of the wood fibers. This erosion, however, is extremely slow. Even with an average level of care, the rate of surface erosion is 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch per 100 years.

This last fact could be a welcome relief from any concern that the wood structure itself is decaying just because of a color change that you happen to notice. The weathering process strictly involves the surface of the wood, and itself can still be controlled with proper care.

Preventative Care and Maintenance
The following list of tips and guidelines can help you on your next visit to an online/local home and garden warehouse store or furniture care supply center:

• Strongly consider obtaining waterproof furniture covers for an ideal level of protection from moisture
• Water Repellants or other products with a high percentage of oil are not recommended for outdoor furniture due to the tendency from outside air particles to stick to the wood furniture
• Try to avoid linseed oils or other natural oils as this will lead to mildew fungi (mildew fungi leads to the surface deterioriation, as opposed to "decay fungi" which results in an accelerated compromising of the structure within the wood)
• Washing wooden furniture: Clean about twice a year with a mild detergent and a scrub brush.
• Try to avoid varnishing on top of screw fittings. The shrinking and swelling due to weathering as explained above will require the tightening of the the screws, and this could be problematic if that area is gummed up with varnishing.
• If your furniture is close to a pool or spa, use a hose to wash them once a week, as chlorine is a risk to most finishes
• If possible, avoid situating wood legs directly on top of grass. The wetness from the ground may promote early decay of the wood over time. If in your situation, it is difficult to avoid this, try standing the table and chair legs in saucers of wood preservative for several hours to add protection.

Also, in the event of spills make sure to clean up all of the liquid, as opposed to just a quick wipe. Unless the sun is at it's hottest that day, never assume that the sun will take care of drying it thoroughly. If the wood takes all day to dry out, airborne pollen or other dirt may get a chance to form an invisible yet sticky film on your furniture surface.

In conclusion, this could be considered as one of those areas where a small investment in time and effort gives you a large payback. The tradeoff is longer life for your beautiful porch, backyard garden or patio furniture.

Steve Bailey - Steve Bailey is a webmaster and computer programmer who prefers the outdoor environment for spending time on his passion. Information and resources on patio or backyard furniture as well as hammocks can be found at his website.   Website: Outdoor Chairs and Hammocks.com To review the Reprint Rights for this article, please go to the authors page by clicking the button below.