Description and Care of Teakwood

Taking care of your furniture:

Wood furniture offers a rustic, natural look to your yard. It can be left to weather naturally to a silvery or dark gray (depending on whether you clean it or not), or cleaned, completely dried and oiled to retain its original golden color. Remember though that just because teak wood is tough as nails, it will get dirty and there will be variation in its coloring and weathering/aging. For easier maintenance, if that is important to the customer, it is recommended that outdoor furniture be covered, especially if left out in the winter.  Or it can be brought indoors for the season and stored in an area that is not terribly dry.  Yet the wood will withstand the rigors of the outdoors should you wish to leave it outdoors and uncovered all year.  We recommend that you store all folding chairs indoors since they have movable parts. 

Outdoor furniture takes a beating, so don't expect it to look as pristine over time as when you first bought it. After all, again, it is wood and we do know that wood is not perfect. In addition, it is exposed to the elements and all that nature has to offer. Imperfections, which are inherent properties of any wood, will show over time. This is normal and serves only to enhance the beauty and naturalness of the furniture.  You may experience some fine roughness the first few months it sits in your yard. This is the grain's first exposure to the sun. Once the grain relaxes, it will permanently return to its original smoothness, depending on how you maintain it.

Also, in humid or wet climates, or after rains, the wood will naturally expand and contract, causing the grain to rise and checking/surface cracking to occur, most often at the end of the grain. This is to be expected with exposure to the elements (particularly the hot sun) and may stabilize after the initial weathering occurs, which seems to be in year two of its placement in your yard.  This process does not affect the integrity of the piece in any way. All wood, teak and others, left outside have this effect from the elements. This is to be expected.  But teak wood offers a comfortable, warm, and natural look to your outdoor decor and you can be assured that, unlike others that decay, if properly cared for teak will last for many years to come.  Just let the wood adjust to its environment and you will enjoy its naturalness more and more each year. 

We do not recommend using a power washer for cleaning. Power washing will strip off the thin silver-grey (oxidized) outer layer, or patina, of your teak furniture and it will return to a light brown color. HOWEVER, power washing could roughen the surface, gouge the surface, open up joints or cause other long-term damage if you get too close. If the furniture is only 1-2 years old you can often remove the patina by simply washing it with soap, water or, better yet, teak cleaner, and a soft scrub pad. You can also try using Murphy's Oil Soap or Simply Green. Teak brightener products are also useful.  Most stains will weather out naturally or can be cleaned with soapy water and a soft pad. Other damage or stains can be removed by using fine sandpaper. If you ever scratch or dent it, or a piece is uneven in color or surfacing, simply sand it.  Sanding does not hurt it at all. Should you wish to oil your furniture, it must thoroughly cleaned, dried for 24 - 48 hours, dusted off and coated with 1 – 2 coats of quality teak oil. Never apply the oil on top of dirt, mold or water. You may want to put a fresh coat of oil on your items soon after you buy them. Though the manufacturer coated the furniture with oil previously, we do recommend that those wishing to keep the color hose the furniture with water, wipe off all dust and dirt, let it dry for a day and then apply a fresh coat of oil soon after purchase.

Since wood expands and contracts, occasional LIGHT tightening of some hardware in any of the folding is necessary, particularly at the beginning of the season and its first few years of use.  Be sure all screws are in place and lightly tighten before using these folding chairs. You should not need to tighten table hardware, just the chairs. Care should be taken not to over-tighten hardware as brass is a soft metal. Just make it a little snug as these are supposed to be loose enough for opening and closing the chair.   You may find that as the wood settles into its environment over time that you have to tighten the hardware less and less, perhaps only doing it at the beginning of the season.

For information on teak maintenance, check out the following site: Marine Development Research or similar sites. Marine companies seem to understand this wood the best.  You can also search the Internet for products that minimize checking, staining or simplify cleaning and oiling. Some the specialty patio catalogs have products that our customers have recommended. So check them out too.