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Recipe 80 of 100 · The Country Cleans Mix Book

How to Clean Patio Furniture and Cushions Before Winter

Vinegar and Oxygen Bleach

Chalky gray resin chairs and mildew spotted cushions get two buckets. Bucket one: 1 gallon warm water, 1 cup white vinegar and 2 tablespoons dish soap for the frames; let it sit 10 minutes, scrub and rinse. Bucket two: 1/2 cup oxygen bleach in 1 gallon warm water, cushions only; scrub, leave 20 minutes, rinse until clear. Never combine them, the vinegar cancels the oxygen bleach. Stand cushions on edge in the sun to dry, never a hot dryer.

Patio Furniture Cleaner for Plastic, Resin and Cushions recipe card: 1 gallon warm water, 1 cup white vinegar, 2 tbsp dish soap, 1/2 cup oxygen bleach, cushions only
What it fixesChalky gray resin chairs, grimy plastic tables and mildew spotted outdoor cushions.

You need

Mix it

  1. Mix the warm water, vinegar and dish soap in a bucket. This is your frame and hard surface wash.
  2. In a second bucket, dissolve the oxygen bleach powder in 1 gallon of warm water for the cushions. Keep the two buckets separate and do not combine them, the vinegar cancels the oxygen bleach out.
  3. Keep the baking soda dry in a cup. It is a spot treatment, used on its own.

Use it

  1. Hose the furniture down and wet any plants sitting near where you are working.
  2. Sponge the vinegar wash over plastic and resin, working into the woven texture and the underside of arms where the gray film is thickest. Let it sit 10 minutes, then scrub and rinse.
  3. For stubborn scuffs and black marks, sprinkle dry baking soda on a damp sponge and rub the spot directly. Rinse it off before moving on.
  4. For cushions, lay them flat, soak them with the oxygen bleach solution, and scrub with the soft brush until the water runs through. Leave it on for 20 minutes.
  5. Rinse cushions until the water runs clear, squeeze them out, and stand them on edge in the sun so both faces drain and dry. Rinse the ground and plants around your work area when you finish.
Dale's noteCushions get mildew because water sits in the foam core, not because the fabric is dirty. Standing them on edge to dry instead of laying them flat is the whole difference between cushions that last two seasons and cushions that last six.
Don'tDo not put outdoor cushion covers in a hot dryer to speed up drying. The heat shrinks them just enough that you will never get them back over the foam.
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