How to Clean Rattan Furniture

Guest Blogger #925, Entry #2280, April 9, 2013

“Rattan” is the name given to any piece of furniture which is crafted by weaving palm plants together. Because of this method of construction, rattan is an environmentally friendly style of furniture making, and the term applies to any of the 600 or so different species of palm plants, meaning one piece of rattan furniture can look very different to another!

It is most commonly used outside, as lovely table and chair sets for the patio, but can be pulled off indoors as well, especially in a conservatory or any house with a Mediterranean vibe going on. Like wicker, the material is used in so many types of furniture – even rugs!

Clean your rattan furniture the right way

Image via: Carson Poetzl, Inc.

If yours is looking a bit grubby, here’s how to get it shining again.

What You’ll Need

First off, get your hands on a vacuum cleaner – there must be one hiding somewhere! Grab one of those brush attachments too, if you’ve got one lying around. If it’s in a particularly bad way, get a bucket of warm water, some Fairy Liquid or the like, a dishcloth, and a spare toothbrush. You won’t want to clean your teeth with it after we’re done!

Vacuuming

Nice and easy, vacuuming is the way to go if you’ve only dropped biscuit crumbs all over your furniture. Whack on that handy brush attachment and you’re ready to go – any loose dirt and toast will be toast!

You can use a vacuum cleaner on the cushions as well as the furniture itself – take them off, vacuum them all over then take the cleaning machine to the bones.

Simple tips to clean your rattan furniture

Image via: Rick L Lawrence, AIA, NCARB

Give It a Good Wash Down

With the cushions still off, fill up the bucket with roughly a gallon of water – nice and warm, neither too hot nor too cold. Put a generous squirt of washing up liquid in there, dip in the dishcloth and give the piece of furniture a decently thorough rub down, from top to bottom. For the most effective cleaning, do this twice, drying in between the washes.

What is rattan furniture good for if not for its ease of cleaning? To get rid of any bits of dirt trapped in hard to reach areas like corners and slats, all you need is that toothbrush. Load it up with the soapy water and go to town on all those pesky bits – your furniture will soon be sparkling like new again!

All that’s left to do is rinse it off. Use clean water, straight from the tap, to do this. It might be easiest to just pop the furniture in the garden (if it isn’t there already) and simply spray it down with the hose. It’ll be fully clean when this stops making soap bubbles.

Now the only thing standing between you and your lovely, shiny-clean rattan furniture is the fact that it’s dripping wet! We’d recommend letting it dry naturally, so just leave it in the garden and let the sun do its magic. Sorted!

For more outdoor home ideas on Stagetecture, click here.