If you're planning on buying a new set of wicker furniture for your patio or garden, then you need to ensure that the pieces can cope with the weather. Unless you plan on storing your furniture indoors or under covers whenever you aren't using it, it will need some kind of weatherproofing.
You need this furniture to have some protection against sunlight and rainfall whether you buy natural or artificial wicker products. One thing to look for here is furniture that has UV stabilisation. How does this help?
Keep Fading to a Minimum
If you leave furniture outdoors permanently, then it is exposed to a lot of sunlight. This light will ultimately affect the colour of the pieces; it will make them fade.
While you may not mind losing some colour to fading, this process doesn't tend to give even results. Some parts of a wicker sofa may fade more than others depending on its position and exposure to the sun. Your sofa could end up looking patchy and ugly.
If the furniture has been through a UV stabilisation process, then it won't fade. It will hold its colour and stay looking as good as new for longer.
Keep the Wicker Supple
While wicker needs to be strong and stable to work as furniture, it also needs to retain some suppleness. It needs a bit of give in order to take weight. It also needs to hold its shape.
If wicker sits in the sun a lot, then it dries out too much. This can happen even if you don't live in an area with blisteringly hot summers; regular exposure to even just a bit of sunlight can be problematic.
If your furniture doesn't have UV protection, the sun will make the wicker turn brittle over time. The wicker is then more likely to come out of its setting, to fray, to crack and even to break. If the seat breaks on a wicker chair, you can't sit in it.
Rot can also be a problem here. If sun damage removes some of the material's core protection, it might rot after being rained on regularly.
If your furniture has UV stabilisation, then there is less chance that it will become brittle or rot. The wicker can retain its natural strength, and your furniture will last longer before you need to replace it.
To find out more about UV stabilisation and other features to look for in outdoor furniture, talk to wicker furniture suppliers.
Reach out to a wicker furniture supplier.