Teak and Wicker Furniture Care

Teak (Tectona) is a genus of tropical hardwood trees in the family Verbenaceae. Teak has a high content of natural oils that makes it suitable for use in exposed locations, where it is durable even when not treated with oils.

Its popularity has led to the growth in sustainable production throughout the seasonally dry tropics in forestry plantations. All Jo Alexander teak is produced from these sustainable forestry plantations.

Teak cut from old trees from ancient forests is harder and more durable than plantation teak. However kiln drying allows for plantation grown teak to perform almost on par with old growth teak. Because of the density and durability of the timber your furniture will withstand a great deal of abuse and last for many years.

Jo Alexander furniture arrives fine sanded. The untreated timber is a very pleasant yellowy-brown olive colour when still fresh. 
If your furniture is to be used indoors, and away from a lot of natural sunlight, over a period of time – perhaps six months to a year – the wood will gradually become a darker shade of brown.

If the furniture is left outside, the effects of the suns rays will bleach out the timbers natural colour, gradually turning it a soft silvery grey colour. This silver grey ‘patina’ which develops over time gives teak furniture a distinctive appearance. The silver grey colour resulting from this natural ageing process is considered to be very attractive, and allows the furniture to blend in well with any outdoor environment. Teak furniture left in this state is easily maintained, and needs no treatment whatsoever to give many years of service.

How do I clean my teak furniture?

You can clean your furniture with a normal household bristle brush (not too hard) and some warm mildly soapy water. Wash down afterwards with clean water. There are also proprietary cleaners on the market which can also be used to clean off various deposits and accumulated dirt and stains. A specialist product such as Alfresco Protector can be purchased from Jo Alexander Ltd.

We do not recommend the use of high pressure hoses as this may "chip out" small pieces of teak wood. We also do not recommend the use of steel wool or steel wire brushes. These can cause grooves to be formed along the grain of the wood during brushing and secondly can cause rust marks in the grain of the wood from steel residues.

If the furniture has some stubborn and heavily ingrained stains these can be removed by sanding with a fine grade of sandpaper, being sure to work only with the direction of the timber grain. After sanding stains away like this, if the furniture was previously teak oiled you may wish to re-oil, or if it had previously been left natural, the fresh colour exposed by sanding will soon mellow in with the existing silver grey patina. 

Do I need to oil my furniture?

Jo Alexander would recommend that you do not oil your furniture. Firstly teak is a close grained hardwood with a high natural oil content, which naturally protects the wood. Secondly the oiling process must be maintained annually. Thirdly the wood will absorb a lot of heat from the sun when oiled, which puts the wood through more stress. However, if you would like your furniture to remain the same colour as when it was purchased, a product such as Alfresco Protector can be used. This can be purchased from Jo Alexander. Please see the "Treatment" section of the Jo Alexander website.

Cleaning Stainless Furniture

To remove small marks and dirt simply use warm water and a clean cloth. Do not use cleaners containing chlorine. Stainless steel cleaner can be used to maintain or restore the polished look. 

Cleaning Batyline Products

Batyline™ can simply be cleaned using a non-abrasive household detergent taking care not to touch the surrounding material (teak or stainless steel).

Cleaning Wicker Furniture

When cleaning it is important to use a non-foaming cleaner on woven furniture, as a foaming product will leave residues in the gaps in-between the weave which will then attract dirt. A pressure hose on a low setting is acceptable to use on wicker furniture.