Rattan is a traditional yet contemporary furniture material used to make furniture for both indoors and outdoors. A material which continues to rocket in popularity, rattan offers strength, durability and toughness coupled with elegance and style.
Its many benefits begin to explain just why this type of furniture is so sought after, and why it’s so on-trend. What’s refreshing is that it’s actually very easy to look after; a material that doesn’t take a lot of work to stay looking in tip-top condition and as good as the day you bought it.
You won’t need expensive cleaners or detergents, and you won’t need to spend hours polishing it to perfection. Intrigued? Take a look on how to preserve rattan furniture and keep it looking as good as new.
Little and often
The best thing about rattan furniture is that it doesn’t require hardcore ongoing maintenance as compared to other furniture materials like metals or wood. You can leave it for a long time without paying attention. But then, weather will start showing its effects and rattan start losing its shine. So it’s good to pay timely attention to the maintenance of rattan furniture – which is not at all a daunting task. You can check out all the caring tips of rattan furniture in the article posted few weeks back.
Deep cleaning
Even the toughest and most neglected zones of your home need a deep cleaning every once a while and so is the case with rattan furniture as well. Since most of rattan furniture items feature wicker weaving, so it becomes necessary to give those rattan chairs, buckets and storage sets a deep clean effort in accordance to expand their lifespan. You can do it the easy way with a vacuum cleaner by using nozzle and brush attachments. If the dust is too hard to reach, then try out removing it with a hose (make sure that your hose isn’t switched onto the powerful setting as it may harm rattan strands).
Stains
Rattan’s “almost anti-stain property” makes it one of the best materials to craft furniture. So, if you have kids, rattan furniture makes a great choice for any corner of your house. But to extend its lifespan it would be good to wipe-off the stains immediately. The longer the stain is left, the more would be the possibility that it may come off. But for that don’t use scrubbing pad as it may discolour or destroy the structure of rattan. Just clean it up with a damp cloth.
Repairing splits and cracks
Though the robust nature of rattan makes it unlikely to suffer from splits and cracks, but you may experience it when the furniture gets older. Don’t despair if you see one appear, as this can be repaired within minutes. All that’s needed is a soft and plain cloth and some boiled linseed oil. Simply douse the cloth in boiled linseed oil and liberally apply it to the cracked or split area. Let the rattan absorb the oil. Wipe off the excess oil and set aside to dry. This will provide a new and protective coating for the chair. You will see the splits and cracks miraculously disappear, healed over by the oil.
Protecting it
Although rattan is resistant to all weathers, but the rain, sun and snow, cold temperatures can make it more brittle, increasing the possibility that it will eventually snap and crack. By keeping it protected from the weather extremities, or by reducing the number of drenching it receives, you could increase the lifespan of your rattan furniture substantially. The simplest formula is to cover it up with protective wraps when not in use, or just place them under a shade or patio.
Keeping its shape
Since rattan furniture is made from binding rattan strands together, so it it’s best to avoid using the furniture completely until the unit is totally dry. If you use the rattan furniture when it’s still wet, or even damp, you could push the strands out of position inadvertently, weakening the structure and causing long term damage. Don’t sit, add weight or move rattan furniture in any way until you are certain that it’s dry and won’t bend or stretch.
Keeping it soft
It is advisable to keep rattan furniture lubricated on a regular basis to avoid the brittleness. Lubricating will help to maintain the soft texture of the rattan and extend the lifespan too.
Rattan is a material which is particularly very easy to keep clean as compared to other types of furniture. By taking some extra care and by providing the protection, you could extend the life of your rattan furniture and keep it looking as good as new for years to come.