If you visit many gardens, you will find teak garden furniture. And there is a good reason for this.
Teak wood has impressive properties that work perfectly with any weather. This ensures that the resulting furniture is solid and durable.
In the bid to keep their garden furniture in pristine condition, one of the common questions homeowners ask is ‘should I oil my teak garden furniture?’ This article aims to give you all the details about whether you should or should not oil your teak garden furniture UK.
To Oil or Not to Oil Teak Garden Furniture?
Teakwood is an excellent wood for any outdoor furniture. Compared to other types of hardwood, it requires the least care and maintenance. This is because teak wood is both weather and age resistant and naturally produces its own oil that keeps it in pristine condition even without any intervention.
These natural oils keep the furniture in excellent condition and protect it from termites and rot. Teak naturally has all the defences it requires to stay in perfect condition.
Due to this, oiling teak garden furniture is completely unnecessary. Unlike other types of wooden furniture, teak garden furniture does not require any manual intervention. They can survive any extreme conditions all on their own without you worrying about any maintenance.
Reasons You Shouldn’t Even Consider Oiling Teak Garden Furniture.
As mentioned earlier, teak wood does not require your intervention to stay in good shape. Therefore, oiling the wood furniture only means unnecessary work for yourself. Besides this, adding another layer of oil to the already existing natural oils could be damaging to your teak.
So here are reasons why you should avoid it altogether:
- Synthetic oils can cause teak to dry out. Once you introduce treatments to teak furniture, it interferes with the natural oils causing them to dry out. In return, the woo starts to dry out much faster, therefore, becoming more reliant on artificial treatments.
- It is expensive to sustain. Once you introduce the oils, there is no escaping because your furniture will now require regular oiling. This can be both frustrating and expensive.
- Artificial oils can weaken teak wood. Teak wood furniture is meant to be self-reliant. Introducing synthetic oils only interferes with its chemistry leading to it quickly becoming brittle and less sturdy.
- Oiling teak wood causes mildew. Many types of teak oils and treatments cause mildew buildup in the long run, eventually leading to the furniture losing its vibrant colors.
- Oiling will not restore the original color. As teak wood ages, it loses its golden brown color, which causes many to panic. However, oiling is not necessary to get back this color. Simply washing with mild soap and water is much more likely to bring the color back.
Teak Garden Furniture Does Not Need Oiling
So there you have your answer. Don’t do more work and introduce unnecessary costs for yourself.
Looking after your patio furniture has never gotten easier. All you need to do is keep the furniture clean, and the furniture will do the rest of the work for you.