We always look for modern furniture and nothing can be better than Aluminum Patio furniture for our garden space. However, there are some drawbacks to using this material as furniture. To avoid it, you need to take care of it by cleaning regularly.
There are certain facts that you need to keep in mind while cleaning cast aluminum furniture. What if you are not aware of them? No worries, in this article we will give you the A to Z guidelines about how to clean cast aluminum patio furniture.
You will find this topic is divided into the following sections,
- What Type of Material Cast Aluminum Is?
- Necessary Equipment for Cleaning Cast Aluminum Furniture
- How to Clean Cast Aluminium Patio Furniture
- Avoid these Mistakes While Following the Procedure
- Some Supplementary Tips You should Follow
- Additional Repairing Tips
- Why is Cleaning Cast Aluminium Patio Furniture Important?
- Wrapping Up
What Type of Material Cast Aluminum Is?
The casted aluminum requires a decorative finish all over the body through powder coat, painting, polishing, epoxy, and plating. So it is clear that this heavy polishing body needs special treatment from your end.
Necessary Equipment for Cleaning Cast Aluminum Furniture
We always need to be prepared with proper weapons before going to a battle. Similarly, to experience a hassle-free cleaning project, you need to collect some stuff. Don’t worry, you can easily pick them from your kitchen and regular cleaning accessories.
- Hand gloves.
- White vinegar.
- A soft brush.
- Water.
- Garden Hose.
- A soft cloth.
- Non Abrasive cleaning products.
- A spray bottle.
- A dry towel.
How to Clean Cast Aluminium Patio Furniture
Step 1: Arrangements
Firstly, you need to gather all those necessary tools and equipment in one place. This very first step will make the rest of the job quicker. Secondly, remove all the decorative covers or cushions from the furniture pieces. You need to wash them separately.
Finally, place the furniture pieces in an open and flat space. Make sure that the place has a proper drainage system.
Step 2: Washing cushion and covers
Follow the washing instruction on their tags. If there is no instruction, then we are giving you a general washing guideline. First, check the cloth material. If it is firm material, then you can easily wash them in your washing machine.
On the other hand, if they are synthetic and soft cloth materials, then we would suggest you use any mild cleanser. You can go for shampoo and lukewarm water to maintain their softness and glace, also they will need hand washing.
Step 3: Washing furniture piece
Outdoor furniture usually contains two types of dirt. One is dry and loose dust, which can be cleaned easily. And the other is steady debris, which requires extra treatment. For dry and loose dust, just rinse water with the garden hose. It will wash away almost 70% of dry dust. Now, use a soft sponge or brush while rinsing water to get rid of firm dirt.
Make sure that the pressure of the water flow is medium. Lastly, leave it for a while to air dry.
Step 4: Using cleanser
There are plenty of options for aluminum furniture cleansers in the market. Some perform well, and some still cannot prove the quality of their ingredients.
So for your convenience, we are sharing an easy DIY cleanser. And the amazing fact is you can prepare this solution with your available kitchen supplies. To prepare this solution, mix 1 part of distilled vinegar with 9 parts of clean water. If you want a more active cleanser, then use 3 parts of vinegar with 7 parts of water. It will work more conveniently if you fill it in a spray bottle, works for removing ink stains from wood too.
Spread the DIY cleanser all over the body of the furniture and rub it with a soft cloth. It will remove all the dirt and impurities from the surface.
Don’t forget to do a simple patch test with that solution. Spill it on a small surface to check whether it discolors the surface or not.
Step 5: Drying
Now use a dry towel to clean the water on the furniture surface. Otherwise, moisture can cause damage to them.
Try to use the towel in a circulation motion and avoid rush rubbing. In this stage, you can observe a glossy and shiny look on your furniture. Moreover, the acidity of the vinegar solution would reduce the sign of rust and make its glacier.
Step 6: Wax coating
If you want extra protection, then go for this step. It will make your furniture more attractive and long-lasting. Moreover, this wax coat will remain for some time until you do your next cleaning.
For this, you need to polish automotive or car wax all over the surface. Do it with the help of a soft sponge brush or cotton. You can also go for thick polishing oil that is easily available in the market. All of them will provide a shiny and sleek look to your patio furniture.
Step 7: Painting
This step is not mandatory to do every time. But it is better to do it once a year.
Before painting, you need to remove the old paint. So scrub the entire surface with aluminum scrub paper. You can use a steel wool scrubber as well.
Then use a rust-resistant primer and leave it to air dry for a few minutes. Then paint the entire body with rust-resistant paint. If you do it at least once a year, you can keep your furniture safe for more than a decade. Regular painting easily disappears the unwanted scratch marks and corrosion.
Avoid these Mistakes While Following the Procedure
- Avoid using chemical cleaning products—for example, trisodium phosphate or Ammonia.
- Avoid those cleansers which contain oxidative chemicals like alkaline.
- Please do not use any pressure washer as it may damage the powder coating of aluminum.
- Do not leave any cleaner products on your furniture. And try to make it air-dry as much as possible.
- It is strictly instructed that we should not use any bleach or abrasive products to clean our cast aluminum furniture.
- In the case of a wax coating, do not polish a thick layer. Then it will absorb more dust and will make it sticky.
Some Supplementary Tips You should Follow
- For the best preservation of your patio furniture, you should provide deep cleaning four times in an entire year.
- Try to give a routine clean once a week. It will make your work more comfortable during the deep cleaning.
- Casted Aluminum furniture comes with a natural luster. To protect it, use a soft cotton cloth instead of any rough cleaning brush.
- If you are willing to give paint, then must use rust-resistant paint. Before that, don’t forget to use a rust-resistant primer.
- For better protection, you can go for either iron or automotive wax coating.
- You can go for mild soap or a dishwasher as a cleanser.
- You may go for matching enamel paint
- If you paint, then allow it to dry for 24 hours before reusing.
Additional Repairing Tips
During cleaning, you may find some minor damage. Calling handymen to repair them is a costly step to take. If you know these small repairing tricks and strategies given below, you can do it on your own and save some money.
- Replace missing nuts, washers, and bolts. They can be found very easily in the local hardware store.
- There might be some broken welds. You can repair them with the help of a metal inert gas welder.
- Check out the legs and arms of the chairs and table. If you find any crack on them, then try to fix it with color or wax coating.
Why is Cleaning Cast Aluminium Patio Furniture Important?
Any sort of metal object requires extra care from the ancient period of civilization. In the case of cast aluminum, the practice won’t be changed. But some crucial issues make this cleaning one of the essential jobs for cast aluminum patio furniture.
> Protect the coating
There are several layers of paint, powder coating, and polishing. These layers mainly work as a rust-proof shield. If you do not clean your patio furniture, the excessive heat and direct UV rays from the sun will do a chemical reaction with dust and humidity.
This reaction may die away from the fine polish of the furniture and occur in corrosion.
> Make them long-lasting
You are not ready to change your outdoor furniture every year. In that case, if you want to make them long-lasting, then you need to know the process of cleaning cast aluminum patio furniture.
Regular cleaning reduces the chance of discoloration. Otherwise, both the rainwater and dust together fade the color away very quickly.
> Keep them tidy
Who wants to sit on a grimy outdoor chair and eat on a dirty table? Neither you nor your guests would like to do that. So keeping your furniture tidy by routine cleaning is the only option.
Moreover, proper cleaning is essential to preserve the same glace and shine as newly brought metal furniture.
> Maintain the durability
As aluminum patio furniture is durable and strong, it requires proper maintenance. Regular maintenance can keep the durability for an extended period.
The humidity of the air and moisture of the rainwater can easily cause rust and damage the quality of the material. As a result, this damage ends up in broken legs or handles of your furniture. So, it is pretty clear to understand that you have no other option except routine cleaning to keep it sturdy built.
Wrapping Up
To enhance the beauty of your garden, try the routine cleaning of your outdoor furniture. In contrast, dirty chairs or tables would never make you feel good and even can shrink your impression in front of guests.
We suggest you follow our step-by-step guidelines to make your job more precise and straightforward. So, how to clean cast aluminum patio furniture will no longer be a headache.
Last but not least, we would like to recommend you have or collect all the necessary equipment and tools that are listed above before starting your cleaning project. It will surely provide you with a quick and hassle-free cleaning experience.
Cleaning Process of Aluminum Patio Furniture!
Have a nice day!