How to Clean Garden Umbrella?

Garden umbrellas usually protect us from a lot of harmful things such as the UV rays of the sun. They also make our outdoor space look beautiful. With all those benefits, it is only fair to at least take care of the umbrella so that it can continue doing what it does best. How do you keep your gray outdoor patio umbrella clean? i will give you some tips on how to clean your garden umbrella.

Why clean the umbrella?

First and foremost, you need to know the importance of cleaning the umbrella. While it is beautifully standing there in the sun, it gets exposed to a lot of dirt.

It comes in form of dust, pollen from trees, mold and mildew and even bird droppings. All this could form hard stains if they are not removed regularly. I’m sure you do not want to sit under a dirty umbrella or have your guests sit under it.

Cleaning equipment

When cleaning your umbrella, the first thing you should do is open it up wide to make the cleaning easy and be able to see all the dirt clearly. This is after you have detached it from the table. You should have collected all the necessary equipment to wash.

These include white vinegar or laundry detergent, s gallon of warm water, a brush with moderately soft bristles and garden hose. Instead of the garden hose, you could just use clean water in a bucket.

Once you have everything ready, it is time to do the actual cleaning. Mix either white vinegar or laundry detergent with the warm water and put it aside.

How to clean

Use the soft brush to sweep off the loose dirt from the umbrella for easier cleaning. Make sure you take note of any stubborn stains so that you’ll know where to focus more when cleaning.

The next step is to take the warm water mixture and dip the brush into it. Use the brush to clean the umbrella in circular motions as you pay more attention to the stained areas.

When the stains are too stubborn you may need a harsher detergent to clear them off. Allow the detergent to soak into the fabric so as to loosen the dirt. Continue scrubbing with your brush until all the stains are broken.

Rinsing and drying

Use a garden hose or a bucket of clean water to rinse the umbrella. Make sure to rinse well and ensure no soap or dirt is left on the umbrella. You could rinse more than once to make sure that your umbrella is sparkling. If you spot any stain, use the brush to scrub it off and rinse well afterward.

Now that your umbrella is clean, it is time to let it dry. Put it under the sun so that it can dry well. After drying, if you won’t be using it immediately, close it and put it in its cover as you wait for the next time that you’ll need it. This is to prevent dirt from forming on the umbrella while in storage.

Important things to note

There are things to note while doing the cleaning so that it can be done perfectly. Do not use a very harsh detergent especially on a thin fabric. If you do that then you’ll be weakening the fabric some more and it could tear or wear out quickly than it would have.

Make sure you use a normal laundry detergent or the white vinegar mixed with water. Water kind of neutralizes the detergent and makes it less brutal and effective.

There are umbrellas with removable fabrics. If yours is one of those then cleaning just became easier. This is because all you need to do is remove the fabric and wash it normally. You can use your hands or a brush to do it.

Most of them are machine safe and so you can just use the washing machine to clean. However, remove the loose dirt first or soak a little to loosen the stains. Make sure to hang it outside to dry after the cleaning.

Conclusion

It is very important to clean your garden umbrella so that it remains vibrant and beautifully mounted on your garden. It is not a hard process and so you should make it a regular habit.

Just make sure you use the right detergent to avoid weakening or destroying the umbrella in the process.