Patio furniture is an essential part of your backyard aesthetic in the summer, but once the cold weather rolls around, it needs to be stored inside. Since it is full-sized furniture, storing your patio furniture inside your home or in your garage can take up a lot of space that you could be using for a variety of other, more productive functions. In order to free this space up, you may want to consider renting a storage unit to put your patio furniture in until the summer weather comes back. However, before doing so, you need to properly prepare your patio furniture to ensure that it is still in good condition when you take it out again.

General Cleaning

In order to prevent mold and moisture from damaging the various materials that your patio furniture may be made out of, you should clean it off. For all materials but wood, you can make use of a mixture of hot water and soap. For wooden furniture, you'll want to opt for a specialized wood cleaner, because excessive moisture can cause warping or rot to develop. You may even want to apply a coat of wax for particularly valuable pieces of wooden furniture to add a protective layer over the material. Fabric cushions and padding that can be removed should be put into the washing machine, which will be much more effective at cleaning off dirt and other contaminants than cleaning by hand will be. If you're storing a grill or barbeque, be sure to thoroughly scrub the entirety of the grill so that no food particles remain and to disconnect the fuel source before moving it into the storage unit.

Proper Storage Techniques

In order to maximize the amount of storage space that you have within your storage unit, you'll want to disassemble all the patio furniture that you can. This means removing tabletops, chair legs, and any other components that can be easily unscrewed. Make sure to package all screws and connectors in plastic bags that are clearly labeled as to which pieces of patio furniture they correspond to. For some pieces, such as a set of patio chairs, you may be able to stack them. Go for this option instead of disassembling them, as you will still save a significant amount of space without having to grow through the effort of breaking down your chairs and putting them back together next summer.

For more tips, contact a company like Discount Storage.