05/27/2026
Every year the same thing happens. You pull the outdoor furniture out of storage, unroll the cushions, and realize they spent the winter developing a personality you did not ask for.
Here is how to get everything looking good before the first cookout.
For fabric cushions mix one tablespoon of dish soap and one tablespoon of borax into a quart of warm water. Scrub with a soft brush, rinse thoroughly, and stand them upright to air dry completely in the sun before you put them back. Never put cushions back damp. That is how mold wins.
For mildew stains mix one cup of bleach into one gallon of water with a sq**rt of dish soap. Apply, let it sit for fifteen minutes, scrub, and rinse. Test a small area first if your cushions are a deep color.
For the furniture frames mix dish soap and warm water for most materials. For metal frames check for rust spots and hit them with a rust remover before the season starts. For teak or wood furniture a teak cleaner followed by teak oil keeps it from drying out and cracking through the summer.
For plastic or resin furniture a magic eraser takes off almost everything. Finish with a coat of car wax to protect it from UV damage all season.
Pull it all out. Clean it now. Your future self at the first summer gathering will thank you.
Save this before you drag everything out of storage.
