How To Clean and Maintain Your Picnic Benches

April 19 2023

This is a guide for how to clean and maintain your picnic benches.

Clean and treat your picnic tables on a dry day in spring. Picnic tables that are treated will last longer and be more hardwearing through frequent use and unpredictable weather.

With maintenance done at least once every 12 months, most of our picnic tables come with a 5-10 year guarantee. However, looking after your furniture and maintaining it on a more regular basis will ensure it remains sturdy and long lasting.

Here are some tips on the best way to clean and maintain your picnic tables.

How to clean your wooden picnic tables

Cleaning your benches is the first step to ensuring they’re always looking their best. It is best to clean you benches on a dry, sunny day.

1. Use a soft rag and warm soapy water to clean off any food or drink. You can use a scouring pad for any dirt that is hard to remove
2. Remove any lichen or mildew by using a stiff brush and a weak solution of warm water and vinegar
3. Smooth out the surface with sandpaper
4. Allow the picnic tables to dry out
5. You can now apply a preserving treatment

Why should you use a treatment and which one should you use

Using a spirit based wood preserve will keep your picnic tables hardwearing by protecting the wood from rain and damp weather. As well as this it keeps the colour of your picnic benches looking fresh.

Over the years we have researched to find a treatment that is both cost effective and longer lasting than other wood stains. This treatment fluid can treat up to 10 pieces of furniture while maintaining that unique Woodberry brown colour.

Get your re-treatment kit here

Wood treatment kit with wood preserver can, protection equipment and brushes

How to treat your picnic tables

Once your picnic tables are clean and try you can begin treating them. To make treatment as quick and easy as possible you can use the following process.

Read any health and safety instructions
Wear protective gloves and goggles
Shake the tin of wood preserve thoroughly
Apply the treatment fluid to a clean, dry cloth or paintbrush
Rub it over the wood, being sure to follow the direction of the grain
Rub it in well ensuring there is no residual fluid remaining
Allow 48 hours for the treatment to thoroughly dry

Top Tip

Picnic tables placed on grassy areas often absorb a lot of moisture through the feet.

To prevent damage and to keep your benches looking great we recommend the following process-

Remove your picnic table from the grassy area and tip it up. This allows the feet of the table to dry fully
Clean the bottom of your picnic benches using warm soapy water and a clean cloth
Sand down any splinters or rough areas that might have appeared
Let your picnic tables fully dry out
Treat the wood with the treatment fluid

This will help reduce the amount of moisture absorbed by the wood and keep your furniture looking the best it can.