Cleaning Outdoor Fabrics with 303 Products

With Spring around the corner many people are asking, “How do I clean my cushions and overall  outdoor fabrics?!”. ALL outdoor fabrics, INCLUDING automotive fabric convertible topping, come new with a protective “fluoropolymer” fabric finish put on at the mill.  The reason for this protective chemical finish is THREEFOLD:

 1)   To resist soiling. Treated fabrics stay cleaner much longer before soiling (than untreated fabrics), and clean up easier when finally soiled.

2)   To protect against indelible stains. Stains that otherwise would be indelible, are usually quite easily removed from fabric because of this finish.

3)   To provide and maintain water repellency.

No matter what type of outdoor fabric you have or what company manufactured it, the protective fabric finish will diminish over time. Eventually routine care, “cleaning and re-treating”, is required. An informed person will know when to do this by observation….noticing the lessening and, if not done then, inevitably the complete loss of water repellency. It is best to clean and re-treat when diminished water repellency is first noticed. Don’t wait until there’s no water repellency at all!

Diminishing water repellency is also the time at which when one starts to notice soiling. Diminishing water repellency….often accompanied by the onset of soiling….these are indicators that it is time to clean and “re-treat” the outdoor fabric.

So, should one “treat” outdoor fabric when it is new?  NO.  It is not recommended or necessary!

What to do for best results with a fluoropolymer fabric protector:

Performance:  With a fluoropolymer fabric protector product one gets performance on all fabrics except polypropylene. Typically seats and carpeting in an automobile are NOT this material, though some aftermarket automotive floor mats are (Reason – Low Price). Fabric Convertible topping and the better quality marine canvas, residential, commercial and RV FABRIC awnings and the patio furniture fabric are all “solution dyed acrylic”. Only fluoropolymer fabric protector products should be used to “re-treat” outdoor acrylics after cleaning.

A quality fluoropolymer fabric protector is safe and effective for colorfast fabrics, carpeting, upholstery and other textiles, including:  polyester, nylon, acrylic, other synthetics, blends, and natural fabrics such as wool, Haitian cotton and fine silk.

Textiles treated with a high quality fluoropolymer fabric protector are protected in several ways: Treated materials stay cleaner longer, and clean up much easier when finally soiled. Protection against both water-based AND oil-based stains. This includes protection from stains from grease, oils, lotions, body oils, sweat and other biologics, food and beverages.

NOTE: To get best results with any fluoropolymer fabric protector product, one must give particular attention to:

USING ONLY ON A THOROUGHLY CLEAN TEXTILE: Any soiling residue or cleaning agent residue that is NOT removed from the textile interferes with the bonding and performance of the fabric protector. With outdoor fabrics this means a thorough cleaning and a double-thorough rinsing (cleaning agent residues do NOT rinse off easily). On carpeting, upholstery, furniture fabric, this means cleaning with a machine extractor and, when the fabric is judged to be “clean”, going over it one more time with water only (to remove cleaning agent residue). On garments, proper cleaning means a normal cleaning/rinsing cycle followed by at least one additional rinse cycle.

USING ONLY IN WARM TEMPERATURES: Fabric protector chemistry likes heat. This means using such products in warm weather…on a hot day and in full sun is best. 70°F is at the low end of marginal (OK but not good) conditions.  But one can get good results on outdoor fabrics if the clean, dry textile is positioned in, and heated up by, the sun. Below 70° or 70° & humid….wait for a better day. The quicker you can get the treated fabric to dry and cure, the better bonding and performance is attained. This is why after cleaning and rinsing one allows textiles to dry completely before treating.

Hints with Garments: In marginal temperatures after the re-treated fabric has completely dried (and when there is no longer a solvent smell), you can put the garment in the dryer for about 5 minutes to increase the level of curing/bonding. (at a temperature no higher than the garment manufacturer recommends”). Or one can use a hair dryer, passing the hot air back and forth over the treated garment.  Again, only after the fabric has completely dried and there is no more “solvent” smell. Of course, when doing the “hot air trick” avoid touching the textile with the hair dryer itself. The hot air trick with the hair dryer (only after the treated fabric has dried) can be used on convertible topping and other smaller outdoor fabric applications, too.  In marginal conditions this is a good way to enhance the curing.

Safety:  When using fabric protector products, follow all label instructions, warnings and cautions. Please read product label instructions fully before use.

Which Cleaning Products Work Best?

With a variety of outdoor furniture cleaning products on the markets, its hard to determine which product goes best with your outdoor furniture care needs. After choosing which outdoor furniture works best in your outdoor environment many people forget about the upkeep and the ways to protect their investment. Furniture care varies because not all outdoor furniture is the same. AuthenTEAK offers many cleaning and protecting products for all of our patio furniture, cushions and fabrics. These cleaners and protectors are about taking care of your investment in furniture and keeping everything looking great and long-lasting. In addition to our cleaning products, AuthenTEAK offers teak maintenence services where we will clean, restore and protect your furniture using our trained and knowledgeable staff.

Golden Care Teak Protector

Golden Care is a great company that offers a variety of teak care products. Golden Care products clean, restore and protect your outdoor furniture. Occasional use of Golden Care products will help to enhance the beauty of your outdoor furniture and protect the frames from harsh elements such as UV rays. These Eco Safe products are 100% waterbased, contain no solvents/VOC’s and are non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-harmful and 100% biodegradable. Golden Care Teak Protector helps maintain the original, golden brown color of teak. This innovative easy to apply treatment protects your teak and keeps it looking great by retaining it’s natural warm brown color. Teak Protector is water-based and dries quickly allowing you to use your furniture within a few hours.

Water-based Teak Whitner gives weathered teak an exclusive white, silver grey look. The Whitner also protects the wood against moisture and adhesion of dirt and prevents mildew growth. Golden Care Teak Whitner also slows down the weathering process. After ageing, your teak will weather to a natural white, silver grey instead of turning dark grey or green.

With such a variety of cleaning products its important to communicate with your outdoor furniture designer on ways that will suite your needs when it comes to maintaining and protecting your outdoor furniture. Many people like to keep their teak outdoor furniture looking brand new, while others enjoy the weathered teak look. Its still important to protect your investment. So speak up and don’t be shy to ask about the ways to maintain your outdoor patio furniture! You will feel a lot more comfortable once you ask questions about which products work best for your outdoor furniture needs!

What to do with my Teak?

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I decided to write about teak care because I regularly get asked, “Do I put teak oil on my furniture?”. The answer is NO! NEVER! Do not use “teak oil” on outdoor teak furniture. Using teak oil will cause an oily, ugly mess. Teak oil has been primarily used on scandanavian or danish indoor teak furniture. It does work well on indoor teak to condition or polish the wood. Outdoor teak, which is usually natural, does not accept the teak oil at all. Teak is very dense and the teak oil doesn’t penetrate the wood, instead it just mixes with rain and dampness and just sits on the surface of the wood.

It is common practice, for our teak products to be cleaned and producted. These products are called Teak Cleaner and Teak Protector. The weathering of Teak is caused by the ultra violet rays of the sun, not rain and moisture as some are led to believe. The Golden Care and Gloster products we carry in our West Midtown Atlanta showroom are water based and contain UV inhibitants which slow down, or in some cases, reverse the weathering process. When your new teak furniture arrives, let it sit in its natural element, this will let your teak furniture adjust to the new environment. This gives your teak furniture a chance to become accustomed to humidity, sunlight, and other natural environment conditions.

Barlow Tyrie Teak Bench

When signs of weathering start taking place, which could be 3-6 months, then make the decision about what to do with your teak furniture. Teak will patina to a silvery/gray color over time. Some customers want that weathered look and there are products called Instant Gray that will turn new golden teak furniture gray. If that is not the look you want and you would prefer the honey-toned, new color, then use Teak Protector to bring that color back. Always make sure to clean your teak thoroughtly before applying the protector. It is still possible to get teak wood back to it’s original condition if you’ve ignored it for several years. This will require lots of elbow grease, as well as sanding, but remember that the weathering you see is only sitting on the surface, it isn’t all the way through the wood. For more details and information about teak care and the products AuthenTEAK offers check out Authenteak’s website www.authenteak.com for instructions and “how to” videos under the product care section.

JUST SAY NO TO TEAK OIL!!!