Conservatory Tips #2 – Making Your Furniture Last

Our last conservatory tips article focused on ways that you can avoid or work around the potential challenge of fabric fading, and now we have spoken to both our sales, customer service and operation teams to get some ideas for making your conservatory furniture as a whole last for many years to come!

But firstly to address a misconception...

A number of our customers have been in touch recently to express their pleasant surprise at just how sturdy and string their new furniture is. Of course we are always delighted to hear such feedback, but we found ourselves wondering why these customers had expected anything less.

We have since spoken again to the customers and have discovered that they had thought that cane or rattan furniture was 'predominantly for decorative purposes'. Of course the customers fully expected to use the furniture, but only on an occasional basis!

Here at Just Dine we realise that conservatories are not simply the occasional room that they once where and as such we know that our furniture has to be able to withstand day to day use. And we can assure all of our customers that this is indeed the case - we are approached regularly by customers who originally purchased their furniture  over 10 years previously to replace the worn or faded cushions, because 'the frames are still in great condition'.

Of course, in order to keep ANY furniture in top condition for such a period, you need to look after it - with cane andrattan furniture this is thankfully an easy process.  Here are our top tips:

1) Clean Gently

It may seem an obvious one, but it is possibly the most important point - when you are cleaning your furniture, do not reach for the scouring pad! Day to day cleaning need involve little more than a dry cloth or soft brush - you can gently wipe or brush the cane to remove any dust that may have accumulated.

To bring the frame up nicely, most furniture polish will be perfectly suitable. But please make sure you avoid heavy cleaning materials or chemicals which may react badly with the varnish and cause discolouration.  To remove stains (caused by spilt drinks for example,) simply use cloth dampened in warm water (you can add washing up liquid if required) .

2) Handle With Care!

At some point it is almost certain that you will need to move your furniture around, in particular when you are cleaning the floor of your conservatory. Fortunately rattan furniture is relatively lightweight, especially when compared to fully upholstered settee's, so it is generally fairly easy to move around (though care should always be taken when lifting large items to avoid hurting yourself).

In terms of protecting the furniture, the first point to make is - lift, don't drag! By dragging the furniture  you risk putting excessive pressure on the legs which could cause the cane to split - especially if a leg were to snag on a raised tile or the corner of a rug.

Secondly, when you are vacuuming or sweeping the flooer, be careful to avoid knocking around the legs of your furniture, which can lead to chipping of the varnish or even the rattan weave itself. This does not mean you need to be wrapping the furniture in bubble wrap before cleaning, just take a little care with it!

3) Control The Humidity

A wide variety of natural products are used to craft the Just Dine collection of conservatory furniture and most materials that have not been treated for outdoor use will be susceptible damage if subjected to excessive humidity. This is rarely a problem in the UK as long as your conservatory does not have a leaky roof(!), but if you are worried about the level of humidity in your conservatory then one possible remedy might be to use a dehumidifier.

At the time of writing, electric dehumidifiers can vary in price from around £50 to hundreds of pounds, but you can pick up packs of disposable dehumidifiers from most supermarkets for a nominal price.

(One of the key indicators that you have excessive levels of humidity in your conservatory is a build up of mould or mildew.)

4) Beware Radiators!

If you have opted for underfloor heating in your conservatory then it is unlikely that this will be an issue for for you, but if you have traditional radiators then you it is advisable to be careful not to have your furniture in direct contact with them. Depending on how hot your radiators can get, you may find that direct contact can cause the varnish to dry out and crack, coming away from the frame (this normally would only happen in fairly extreme cases, but it's better to be safe than sorry!)

Care should also be taken if you are using any kind of fan or convector heater in you conservatory, both in terms of protecting your furniture but more importantly from a health and safety perspective. Check with the manufacturer of the appliance in question for best practises of safe use.

Have you got anything to add to this? PLEASE LET US KNOW BY LEAVING A COMMENT!