When teak is new, it’s a bright, golden color, which is a result of natural oil in the wood. After a while, the surface oil will evaporate, but the oil that remains below the surface is what’s responsible for teak’s durability.

When you leave your teak patio furniture outside, it will take on a silver-gray color, which is known as weathering. Depending on the climate, this will start to occur in about nine months. As this is happening, your teak patio furniture will start to “check,” which means the moisture in the wood is adjusting. As a result, cracks or lifting may occur. This is all part of the natural process of teak patio furniture weathering.

Maintenance

To keep your teak patio furniture clean and healthy, brush off the debris with a soft brush. To clean your furniture, take four parts laundry or dishwashing soap and one part bleach. Using a soft brush, clean your teak patio furniture. Rinse clean.

To remove any deep stains or the gray patina, use a teak cleaner to restore your teak patio furniture’s original golden color. After the teak has dried, apply a teak sealer, which you will need to reapply once a year to avoid weathering.

Choosing Teak

Teak is a beautiful choice for your outdoor patio furniture and can range in price from the low hundreds to several thousand depending on the quality, amount of teak used and number of pieces you wish to purchase.

Teak wood patio furniture can be found at home improvement stores, specialty patio stores, discount stores and specialty teak wood furniture stores.

When shopping for teak furniture, take the time to surf the net first to get an idea of what your options are and pricing. Companies like Alexander Rose in the UK offers traditional and contemporary furniture designs that will have you redecorating your patio in no time. Alexander Rose can be found at http://www.alexander-rose.co.uk/.

If you have been looking around and the teak patio furniture sets are just out of your price range, check recycler listings and local classifieds. Many people move and find that they are unable to take their outdoor furniture with them. Or they get to their new home and their outdoor furniture is too big for their space. You can often get a good discount on a beautiful teak patio set simply because the original owner can’t wait to get rid of it.