Eucalyptus furniture is naturally infestation free and resists decay. However, one still needs to follow some eucalyptus furniture care like cleaning and some annual maintenance to ensure long-lasting furniture.
Wood is considered to be alive, and this is very much true in case of eucalyptus furniture and other wooden items. Eucalyptus furniture is mostly used for patio, and so it’s bound to be exposed to various elements. When exposed to rain or humid environment it will expand. When exposed to sun or dry air environment it will contract. Exposure to these elements can cause minor cracks in your eucalyptus furniture. This process is called warping. This process is natural and unavoidable. However, with regular maintenance and some annual maintenance which involve cleaning, sanding, painting, oiling and fixing the furniture you can maintain your furniture and increase it’s life by few years. Here are tips on some regular maintenance and annual care of eucalyptus furniture.
Regular Maintenance
Regular maintenance of eucalyptus is nothing but washing it. You can use plain water or soapy water to clean up your eucalyptus furniture. This can be done on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. It all depends on the environment the furniture is kept. To clean the furniture first remove any dirt, grime, dust bird droppings from the furniture. To do this simply wash the furniture with water and then use a bristle brush to scrub the furniture. After this step again wash the furniture and then spray soapy water on it and apply the solution on the surface of the furniture using a sponge.
Then wash the surface clean. If the elements in your area are too harsh, and there is too much of rain or too much of sun exposure, then take off the furniture and store it under a shade. Doing this when the weather is extreme, will reduce warping of the furniture. If moving the furniture in a shade, under extreme conditions is not possible then you can consider throwing a plastic cloth over the furniture. But, avoid covering the furniture with plastic cloth for long intervals, as this can cause mold or mildew infestation on the furniture.
Annual Maintenance
For annual maintenance of your eucalyptus furniture you will need to sand it, oil or paint it and tighten the screws on it. Sanding is necessary to avoid the silvery gray coloration of the furniture. Most patio furniture after a year or so tend to get a silvery gray color. This can be appealing to some, but if you wish to maintain the color of the furniture then use a 120 grit sandpaper and sand the complete furniture once a year. Another way to maintain the natural color of the wooden furniture is by applying flaxseed oil. Simply, fill up flaxseed oil in a spray bottle and then spray it on the furniture and wipe the furniture with a lint free cloth. This will keep the furniture looking good as new.
In case you have stained furniture and want to maintain the color of it, you will need to apply a color fixer or stain once a year minimum. You can get the stain or color maintenance product for eucalyptus furniture from the manufacturer. The application procedure for this solution is the same as the above oil applying procedure. However, make sure you cover the work area with lots of scrap newspaper first as this solution can leave a stain on the floor. In case your furniture is exposed to harsh climatic conditions you might need to do oiling or painting two times a year. One more thing you need to do to maintain your eucalyptus furniture for long is to tighten its screws annually. Due to the warping the screws might get a bit loose, and tightening will keep the furniture in place.
So, remember to perform regular weekly and annual eucalyptus furniture maintenance, and you will have beautiful natural furniture which you will enjoy for years!