I've been thinking for awhile of launching a series of blog entries dedicated to green home care and cleaning questions, so when I received a client question this week in my email box it seemed a perfect opportunity to launch this first in the "Ask Ms. Green-Clean" series.Ronnie asked:
"I know you're the expert on this, so I was wondering if you could offer a suggestion as to how I could clean white tables and chairs that I leave out on our terrace. I already tried Clorox and bleach, but that didn't seem to make much of a difference."
When I first asked Ronnie what the white material was he replied that it was leather woven around metal. But I thought it was strange that outdoor furniture was made from leather since it's not a material that fares well in nature's elements. I thought perhaps he was mistaking a good textured vinyl knock-off for leather, and a few emails later he seemed pretty confident that the material woven around the painted metal frames was rattan, which made sense. It's commonly used for outdoor furniture.
I'm assuming the black he speaks of on the white painted rattan is a fine, but obstinate mildew or mold and maybe some dirt mixed in if the pieces weren't covered or stored inside during the cold weather months.
Ronnie will be happy to learn that his furniture can be restored to its former white easily with a bit of eco-friendly dish soap like Ecover's, a mild abrasive like Bon Ami or baking soda, a microfiber cloth, and a healthy serving of elbow grease.
This is how to approach it. Fill a bucket with warm water. Soak and wring out your microfiber cloth well. Rattan is a natural fiber and even though the furniture in question is painted, there are always chips and cracks where water can seep in, so you don't want to use a lot of water. Put a dollop, dime- to quarter-size, of dish soap on the cloth. Sprinkle a little bit of the Bon Ami or baking soda and gently but firmly scrub in back and forth motions, going with the weave of the rattan or wicker. The black mildew and dirt should begin to lift. Continue this on all the black parts, rinsing and wringing the cloth, and reapplying dish soap and abrasive as needed.
Once you're finished scrubbing a piece, with a clean, wet microfiber wipe the entire piece down to remove the soapy, gritty gray residue. You may have to repeat a few times and move the cloth in different directions to get all the residue from in between the strips. There's also a chance you'll have to quickly hose the piece down to entirely remove the residue. In this case, hose it quickly to minimize possible water uptake, then quickly dry thoroughly with as many clean and dry microfibers as necessary, making sure to get underneath. It's probably best to do the cleaning on a warm, sunny day, so the pieces can further dry and air out.
