need help choosing outdoor furniture

vimster hi guys, i have a couple of questions i hope to get answered.

am redoing my garden and furniture is part of the makeover.

1. we are the kind of people who use our garden pehaps once every week or two. up to now the issue is always the same - we plan to have dinner in the garden and the furniture is dirty - stuff from th trees, bird droppings, dust, muck, etc. if its really dirty we end up eating inside. is there any fabric or finish or type of furniture that i should be looking at to reduce the clean up time. i even tried those cheapo plastic white chairs and find it hard to clean of the muck. ideally i go out there with a hose an hour before, hose off the furniture, wipe it quick and its good to go.

1. i see a lot of fake rattan and wicker furniture for sale at Costco and Target. it looks good but how does it compare with the real thing and, most importantly, is it easy to clean: :)

veronica

if u are having trouble cleaning down the cheapo plastic chairs the the fake rattan and wicker would be a lot worse the muck and bir droppings etc would be really hard to clean off of that stuff becaus of the way they are woven. i would probably stick with your plastic chairs but go for somethin that is a little heavier and has a good finish on the plastic so tha they are easier to clean. hosing them down sounds like a plan and the easiest way to clean thing up. thats my opinion anyways for what its worth lol. good luck sockiescat

-- sockiescat

I wouldn't opt for wicker - either the real thing, or the new synthetic. . .I'd look for wrought iron. You can hose it down, and it's more durable.

Myrl Jeffcoat

The white plastic chairs you bought - did they have drain holes in the seat? If not, drill a few 1/4" holes in the lowest portion of the seat. This will allow rainwater to quickly drain off instead of standing there for days attracting dust and algae and "muck".

get plastic sheeting from the fabric store or hardware store. work out some system to anchor it so it wont blow away and COVER your furniture. when you want to use it, it is not only CLEAN the nice soft comfy cushions will be DRY. Ingrid

we plan to have

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That works well. If they are really dirty you can use something like

Rattan and wicker would be difficult to clean. Wooden furniture is easier to clean, lasts longer than plastic, but expect to pay more for the wooden furniture.

Why bother washing the furniture? You can buy cloth covers for those cheapo chairs. You can take them off and wash them after use.

Phisherman wrote: