Good garden furniture is an investment, and like any investment it rewards a little attention. The reassuring part is that no material in your garden needs much — a handful of simple habits, done at the right times of year, will keep everything looking exceptional for a decade or more.
The complication is that we sell a lot of different materials, and they do not all want the same treatment. What protects a softwood bench is wrong for teak. What is fine for aluminium will mark steel. So this is the complete reference — every material we stock, what it needs, and when — written for the British climate rather than a Mediterranean one.
Find your material below, or read the lot if you have a mixed garden.
First: The Universal Rules
Whatever you own, four habits apply across the board:
Clean twice a year minimum — a deep clean in spring, another in autumn, and a wipe-down whenever something gets noticeably dirty in between. Use mild soapy water, not harsh chemicals or abrasive cleaners, which strip protective finishes and oils. Let everything dry fully before covering, treating or storing — trapped moisture does more damage than the weather. And use breathable covers, never airtight plastic, which creates the exact humid conditions you are trying to avoid.
That is the foundation. Now the specifics.
Hardwood: Teak, Iroko & Oak
Hardwoods are the low-maintenance aristocrats of the garden. Dense, naturally oily and highly moisture-resistant, they can be left outside all year with no treatment at all — weathering gracefully to a silver-grey patina over time. That silver-grey is not deterioration; it is the timber doing exactly what it is designed to do, and many people come to prefer it to the original golden tone.
If you want to keep the original rich colour, apply a quality teak sealer or teak oil once or twice a year onto clean, dry wood. If you are happy with the patina, simply clean it in spring and leave it be. One quirk worth knowing: for teak left outside, we generally advise against covering it for long periods, as trapped moisture can cause black spot or mildew. Teak's natural oils make it resistant enough to sit uncovered through most British conditions.
Acacia Hardwood
Acacia is a dense, attractive hardwood found across much of our seating and dining range. It behaves like a hardwood — naturally durable and moisture-resistant — but it is a little more prone to drying out and surface cracking than teak if completely neglected in full sun.
The routine is easy: clean with mild soapy water in spring and autumn, and apply a coat of teak or hardwood oil once or twice a year to keep the grain rich and prevent the wood drying out. Over winter, store it somewhere sheltered if you can, or use a breathable cover. Acacia rewards the occasional oiling more visibly than teak — a freshly oiled acacia piece looks genuinely transformed.
Softwood: Pressure-Treated Pine
Pressure-treated softwood is the backbone of quality British garden furniture — it is what suppliers like Zest use, and what you will find across much of our picnic table and storage range. The key phrase is pressure-treated: this is not ordinary pine, it is timber factory-treated under pressure with preservatives driven deep into the fibres, which is what makes it rot-resistant and weatherproof. A 10-year rot guarantee is the benchmark for properly treated softwood.
Softwood asks for a little more than hardwood. Once a year, ideally in spring, clean it and apply a water-based wood stain onto dry wood on a dry day with no rain forecast for 24 hours. This maintains both the look and the weatherproofing. Over winter, a breathable cover or sheltered storage keeps it at its best — even durable treated timber deteriorates faster if left fully exposed for months.
Rattan (Synthetic PE Weave)
Almost all outdoor rattan furniture today — including ours — is synthetic PE (polyethylene) rattan woven over a powder-coated aluminium or steel frame. This is a good thing: unlike natural rattan, which is strictly an indoor material, PE rattan is fully weatherproof, UV-stable and built for the garden.
Care is genuinely minimal. Wipe the weave down with a soft cloth and warm soapy water every few weeks through the season, and use a soft brush to get dust out of the weave gaps. Hose it off when it needs it. Avoid pressure washers, which can loosen the weave over time. The frame underneath is aluminium or steel — see below — and the cushions are outdoor fabric, covered at the end. Over winter, store cushions indoors and either bring the furniture in or cover it with a breathable cover. Done, our rattan vs timber comparison goes deeper if you are choosing between the two.
Aluminium
Aluminium is the closest thing to a fit-and-forget outdoor material. It does not rust — ever — which is why it is used for frames and furniture that live outside permanently. Most garden aluminium is powder-coated, adding a tough, colourfast finish on top of an already corrosion-proof metal.
Maintenance is close to nothing: wash with mild soapy water a couple of times a year, rinse, and dry to avoid water spotting. Avoid abrasive pads or harsh cleaners that could scratch the powder coating — once that coating is broken, the bare metal underneath, while it will not rust, can oxidise to a dull grey. A car wax applied occasionally keeps a polished aluminium finish gleaming, but this is optional. Aluminium is light enough that wind can move it, so weigh or store lighter pieces in exposed spots.
Steel
Steel brings strength and a bit of heft — you will find it in sturdier frames and some of our industrial-styled pieces. The thing to understand about steel is rust: unprotected steel will corrode outdoors, so garden steel is always protected, usually by powder coating or galvanising, and your whole job is protecting that protection.
Clean with mild soapy water and dry thoroughly — do not leave water sitting on it. Inspect the coating a couple of times a year for chips or scratches, especially on feet and joints where knocks happen. If you spot bare metal or the beginnings of rust, deal with it early: lightly sand the spot, then touch it up with a suitable metal primer and paint before it spreads. Over winter, sheltered storage or a breathable cover is the safest option for steel, as sustained wet is its one real enemy.
Bamboo
Bamboo brings a warm, natural look and appears in some of our accessories and lighter pieces. It is naturally fairly resilient but, like natural timber, it does not love prolonged soaking — so it is happiest in a sheltered spot rather than in the middle of an exposed lawn.
Wipe it down with a barely-damp cloth and mild soapy water rather than soaking it, and dry it off. A coat of clear exterior wood oil or lacquer once a year helps it shrug off moisture and stops it drying out and splitting. If bamboo is a movable piece, bringing it under cover for the worst of the winter will add years to its life.
Polypropylene: Outdoor Rugs
Every rug in our outdoor rugs collection is a woven polypropylene flatweave, and polypropylene is a dream to care for because it simply does not absorb water. That single property is what makes these rugs weatherproof, stain-resistant and odour-resistant.
The routine: shake the rug out or vacuum it occasionally to lift grit, hose it down when it gets muddy, and spot-clean spills with mild soapy water — no harsh chemicals needed. The one rule that matters is to let it dry completely before rolling it up for storage, so no moisture is trapped underneath against your decking or paving. Lighter reversible rugs can simply be shaken out and brought in; heavier flatweaves can usually stay down through the season and just get a rinse. For choosing and styling them, see our outdoor rug buying guide.
Rubber Matting & Flooring
Rubber garden matting and flooring is about as tough as outdoor products get — designed to be walked on, driven over and left out in all weathers. It does not rot, does not absorb water, and shrugs off frost.
Care is minimal: brush off leaves and debris so they do not break down and stain, and hose it down or scrub with mild soapy water and a stiff brush when it gets muddy. For stubborn grime, a pressure washer on a moderate setting is fine on rubber — one of the few materials in the garden where that is true. Make sure the surface underneath can drain, and lift sections occasionally to clear anything trapped below. That really is the whole job.
Outdoor Fabrics & Cushions
Cushions are the one element that outlives everything else only if you treat them right — and the single biggest factor is not letting them sit wet. Most quality outdoor cushions use water-resistant fabric with quick-dry foam, but water-resistant is not the same as indestructible.
Brush off loose dirt, and spot-clean marks with mild soapy water and a soft brush, working the stain gently rather than scrubbing hard. Let cushions dry fully in the sun before use or storage. The golden rule: bring cushions indoors, or into a sealed storage box, whenever they are not in use for an extended period — overnight in changeable weather, and always over winter. A cushion that is stored dry each winter can last many seasons; one left out to soak and freeze will not see a second summer. A storage box that doubles as a bench or seat is the neatest way to solve this.
What Good Maintenance Actually Gives You
It is worth being clear about what you are protecting. A quality piece, properly cared for, will outlast several cycles of cheaper alternatives — the mathematics of garden furniture is that one good piece lasting fifteen years costs less than three mediocre ones lasting five, and generates a fraction of the waste. A 10-year rot guarantee, a hardwood weathering to silver, a rug that still looks new after three summers — none of that is luck. It is the small, seasonal commitment above making the quality of the product meaningful.
Two dates to remember: April, to clean and treat everything as the season begins, and September or October, to clean, check fixings, and decide what to store, cover or leave. An hour at each end of the season is the whole price of furniture that lasts.
All Oak & Outdoor furniture comes with full manufacturer care guidance. If you have a question about maintaining a specific piece, email us at sales@oakandoutdoor.co.uk — we are happy to help. Browse the full range across seating, dining sets, garden bars and outdoor rugs.