How often should you store your patio furniture?

Why bother

Left out, winter cracks frames and rots cushions. A thorough-tier job. Skippable when life's busy, worth it when it isn't.

Why it's a range

Stow before the first hard frost. Mild climates may only want a cover.

What the job involves

1. Clean the lot before it goes anywhere. Mild soap and water on metal and plastic frames, a wood-safe cleaner and a soft brush on wood (leave the power washer in the shed), and spot-clean the fabric. Dirt and damp left on now is just mold, rust, and staining waiting for winter.
2. Let everything dry all the way through, cushions especially, then put the cushions somewhere dry and indoors. Damp fabric sealed up for months is how you grow mildew.
3. While you're at it, sort the small stuff: tighten loose hardware, touch up chipped paint and rust spots, mend torn fabric. A little fault now is a big one by spring.
4. Get what you can indoors, garage, shed, basement, or covered porch. Anything that has to stay out goes up on pallets or blocks, off the ground, under a snug breathable cover so snow and ice can't pool, freeze, and pile on the weight.

Do it yourself, or pay someone?

Yourself, almost certainly. It's an afternoon of cleaning, drying, and hauling pieces into the garage. The only spend is supplies: breathable covers run about $25 to $80 each, and the few without indoor room rent a small storage unit for the cold months, often $50 to $150 a month. No tradesperson needed.

What skipping it costs

$70 to $4,000, depending on what gives out first. The cheap end is new cushions, since ready-made replacements run about $25 to $200 each and reupholstering runs $50 to $500. The dear end is a whole set gone, and outdoor dining sets run $200 to $4,000, sofa-style sets more again. A hard winter left out does the damage either way: metal rusts where the finish has gone, thin plastic turns brittle and cracks through the freeze and thaw, cushions grow mold, and a pile of snow can warp a frame or shatter a glass top. Most homeowners land somewhere in the middle of that range. An afternoon of cleaning and hauling sits at the bottom of it.

Signs it's overdue

• Rust spots, bubbling paint, or orange staining showing up on metal or wrought iron frames, usually starting at the joints.
• Plastic or resin pieces gone chalky, faded, and brittle, with hairline cracks that spread a little wider after every freeze.
• Black or green spots on the cushions, or a musty smell when you pull the covers off in spring.

When to start thinking about it

A few days' warning does it. Grumpty grumbles 5 days out, then leaves you alone. Mark it done and Grumpty sets the next one, every 12 months, so you can go back to forgetting it exists.

Questions people ask