Cleaning and Maintaining Your Garden Umbrella

How to guide: proper maintenance of your garden parasols

So, you want to know how to properly clean your garden umbrella? Look no further. In this quick, simple guide we'll give you all the tips and tricks you ever need. No matter the shape or size of your parasol, it's important to keep it clean and well maintained so that it lasts for years to come. And here's how to do just that.

Cleaning your garden umbrella

First things first, let's run through the best way to clean your garden umbrella. To keep it in good condition, you should clean your parasol properly before storing it away for winter. When summer comes to an end, make sure you set aside some time to give it a good clean. However, you must allow the umbrella to dry properly before storing it, so choose a relatively warm day to let it air outside after you've cleaned. Storing your garden umbrella away when it has not properly dry will cause mould and mildew to form. And we don't want that!

What you'll need

• Bucket of warm water
• Mild detergent (washing up liquid)
• Soft brush
• Hose

The method

Begin by brushing off any leaves, debris and dirt that have inevitably built up over the summer. Then, hose down with cold water. Take your bucket of warm water and mix it with a little washing up liquid to create a soapy solution. You can now use your soft brush to scrub the solution into your umbrella. Leave this to soak for five minutes, then hose down again with cold water. The final step is the most important, as we mentioned earlier. You must allow your garden parasol to dry naturally in the sun before storing it away - do not put it away with some damp or wetness still present.

Maintaining your garden umbrella

Although the above cleaning method should be done once a year at the end of every summer, there are little things you can do to ensure proper maintenance of your parasol.

• Always store your umbrella in a clean, dry place with plenty of air circulation throughout winter.
• Make sure to tackle mould and mildew as soon as you see it - we'll be releasing a post on how to do this soon!
• Store away your umbrella when the weather is particularly bad. Although the material is waterproof in light showers, it's not worth risking when there's heavy rain or wind.
• Close down your umbrella when you're not using it - you'll save it from becoming bleached in the sun.
• Regularly inspect your garden parasol to check for any damage or potential problems. Then, deal with them accordingly.