Clean Teak Wood Effectively and Inexpensively by
Joseph Miller
How to Clean Teak Wood
As you may already know, teak wood is one of the finest, richest and most
durable materials for outdoor furniture. Teak is not only weather
resistant; it is also insect resistant and can last for generations! Teak
is my choice for outdoor furniture because of look, quality and
durability.
Although teak wood is the brawn among all furniture material, it still
needs to be cleaned and maintained so that you can stretch the life of
your teak furniture for as long as possible. Using proper techniques to
clean, maintain, restore, preserve and enhance teak is pretty easy and
will not take up too much of your time. In fact, because teak is a low
maintenance type of wood, you should only need to do a single round of
cleaning on your teak furniture (outdoors and indoors) once a year.
Over time, teak's rich yellow-brown hue will turn slightly silvery or
grayish. Sometimes, outdoor teak furniture might even develop some tiny
hairline cracks on the surface. Teak may be strong, but they are not
immune to surface erosion, discoloration, mildew, graying, roughness or
cracking. The environmental conditions where your teak is located will
certainly be a factor in the maintenance requirements of your furniture.
If you want to extend the life of your Teak furniture, it is important to
understand how to properly care and maintain your wood. Here are some
cleaning suggestions that should help you in your maintenance program.
How to go about cleaning teak furniture (and Teak on Boats)
First, you will want to wash the teak furniture well to remove any dirt
and build-up. You can certainly find specialty teak cleaners in your local
hardware store, or you can even use a strong detergent. I've used all
types of teak cleaners, and have spent countless hours scrubbing the teak
with special brushes and pads. The cheapest and easiest way that I have
found to clean teak is to use a product called TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate).
It's a dry product that you can get at most Home Improvement stores, like
Lowes and Home Depot.
If you use the TSP, you'll need a bucket, a stiff scrub-brush, and perhaps
some rubber gloves. The TSP will be mixed with water, so you really won't
need anything else. I've cleaned so much Teak that I can easily gauge the
amount of TSP to add to water (depending on the severity of the cleaning
job). As you start out, you'll want to follow the instructions on the box
when determining the amount of TSP per gallon of water, and probably
experiment on a small area of your wood. Honestly, I've never had a
problem with the TSP, so I don't think you will have much of a problem. Of
course, ALWAYS adhere to the instructions on the label when using
chemicals.
If you have severely weathered Teak, or cracks in the wood, you will
probably need to clean a couple of times in order to remove the dirt.
Using a stiff bristled brush always makes the job easier. I certainly do
not recommend using a wire brush, as it may damage your wood. If you are
cleaning the teak on your boat, you'll also want to be careful not to
scratch the hull.
Once you have cleaned your wood, let it dry completely before proceeding.
Once it is dry, it will be very easy to notice if there are any areas that
may need additional cleaning. You'll certainly want to take care of those
areas before proceeding. Some people suggest waiting several days (or even
weeks) before proceeding; however, I've never been able to resist
completing the job while it is on my mind (and on my schedule) so I really
am unable to recommend a long wait period. As long as the teak is
completely dry, you will not have any problems with the next steps.
Applying a Teak Sealant or Teak oil
After cleaning the teak furniture to your satisfaction, the next thing you
should do is to use Teak Sealer, or perhaps a Teak Oil. There is a large
variety of specialty teak finishing products on the market, so you can
certainly find the best solution for your wood. If you're not sure about
which brand to use, you may wish to ask an expert in the Home Improvement
store, furniture shop, or boat supply store.
Again, make sure the teak furniture is completely dry before you attempt
to apply teak sealant or oil on it. Failure to do so will cause an uneven
blotchy appearance on your teak furniture after you apply the sealant.
Also, if there is moisture the sealant won't hold well and won't last.
You can apply teak sealant using a plastic spray bottle, foam brush or a
simple rag cloth. The choice is yours, and depends on the surroundings you
are working with. If you are on a boat, you certainly will not want to use
a spray bottle that will disperse sealant all over the hull.
Really, it doesn't make too much of a difference the kind of medium you
use, as long as you follow a few guidelines in how you apply the sealant.
You'll need to apply several coats of the teak sealant. For the first
coat, apply liberally literally everywhere on your teak furniture. Most of
the teak sealants out in the market today are not sticky at all, so, apply
liberally and then wipe off any access with a dry rag cloth. With the
first coat, you won't have to worry too much about how you applied the
teak sealant; let the sealant set in and dry for about 1 to 3 hours.
The second coat of teak sealant has to be applied on the same day, so,
after a couple of hours, apply the second coating. If you want it to look
professional and good, apply with gentle, even strokes. And in another
couple of hours, the teak sealant would have been completely dry to the
touch and ready for use. 2 coats of sealant are all you need to keep your
teak furniture in tip-top condition.
Some people prefer to apply varnish to their newly cleaned Teak. Varnish
will provide great protection, and is certainly easy to maintain. We'll
provide additional information on this type of finish, in a later article.
Enjoy your beautiful Teak wood.
Joseph Miller is the President and CEO of Mainline Marketing Group, LLC.,
and works as a full-time Consultant and Internet Marketer. Prior to
becoming an internet Consultant and Administrator, he was a founding
partner of Boatmasters Inc., an Aquatic Service company that specialized
in Teak and hull maintenance for multi-million dollar yachts. His interest
and appreciation for Teak wood, inspired him to create the internet site:
http://www.teaksupplies.com Joseph Miller is the President and CEO of
Mainline Marketing Group, LLC., and works as a full-time Consultant and
Internet Marketer. Prior to becoming an internet Consultant and
Administrator, he was a founding partner of Boatmasters Inc., an Aquatic
Service company that specialized in Teak and hull maintenance for
multi-million dollar yachts. His interest and appreciation for Teak wood,
inspired him to create the internet site:
http://www.teaksupplies.com
About the Author:
Joseph Miller is known as Mr. Easy Traffic. He is an active Network
Marketing traffic consultant, and is the former Corporate Vice President
with one of the fastest growing single product companies in history.
