How To Get Rid Of Old Patio Furniture

Free Ways To Get Rid Of Old Furniture

When you think of your grandparents homes, do you envision a house packed full of furniture and household items? Do you remember rummaging through your grandparents attic or basement, digging through old trunks, and wishing that their old wardrobes would open into Narnia?

If you’re in the position to dispose of these items once they are ill or die, you may be wondering how you can get rid of all of the old furniture for free, or at least very cheaply.

Jump ahead to these sections:

• Places Where You Can Get Rid of Old Mattresses for Free

The past couple of generations were made of people who kept things. They kept items in case another economic depression hit the country. They kept things because they reused items for other purposes. They liked having and displaying collections.

While digging through houses full of stuff can be fun when you are a kid, as an adult seeing a home packed with stuff may give you anxiety. You know at some point, someone in your family will have to go through each item and decide whether to sell it, give it away, or throw it away. What do you do with a lifetime worth of possessions? How do you get rid of it all in particular old furniture?

Here are some ideas on how to get rid of unwanted items. Whether you are cleaning out the household of a family member who recently died or you are participating in a Swedish death cleaning of your own home, here are some thoughts about what to do with the furniture.

Donate It And Get It Picked Up For Free

Especially in large cities, chances are good that thrift shops like Goodwill, Salvation Army, Arc, and others will pick up your items for free if theyre in decent condition. And Habitat for Humanitys ReStore will pick things up like appliances, toilets, etc.

Use your good judgment here though dont pawn off a nasty couch onto Goodwill. Only utilize this option if its truly something thats in good shape and could find a nice home with somebody else.

Plant Herbs Or Spices

There are plenty of pest-repelling plants you can grow outdoors.

Some of the most popular choices are basil, peppermint, marigold, citrus, onion, garlic, lemon, lime, jalapeno, tea trees, and thyme.

Place them strategically around your patio furniture to create a barrier of protection. Some of the most popular choices are.

Plants can be an organic method to keep bugs off your patio sets and dont require anything but regular TLC.

The best part about using plants is that guests wont even know that you have a bug problem- theyll just think the plants are there for garden decor unless they have a keen eye.

You can repel all sorts of common bugs in the garden like bees, spiders, aphids, ants, snails and slugs, and even wasps.

Dont overlook what plants can do- especially herbs or spices that release a strong aroma in the area. This scares away a bunch of pests and keeps them away. Its a natural way to get rid of outside pests.

Also Check: Deck On Top Of Concrete Patio

Piedmont Old Metal Patio Furniture Disposal Options

If you need old metal patio furniture disposal, chances are you’re thinking that’s your only option. But, there are a few things you can do with old metal patio furniture, like the following suggestions:

• Refurbish it. The good thing about metal is that is very long lasting. Which means if its integrity isn’t compromised, you can simply strip it down, sand it to the base, and then repaint it for a fresh, new look.
• Scrap it. Many types of metal are recyclable and can be sold for scrap. This is a great alternative because it will give you a little cash to put toward replacement patio furniture.
• Give it away. If you aren’t into the refurbishment idea and don’t want to deal with scrapping it, you can always just give it away to be free of it. This way, you’re taking all the work out of the equation.
• Of course, you can always have a junk hauler take it away, along with any other unwanted stuff. This is a prime opportunity to really purge all the junk that you’re tired of storing away.

When you need furniture removal, just phone 800-433-1094 or visit Pro Junk Dispatch.

How To Clean Outdoor Furniture

No matter how careful you are, something is bound to spill on your patio furniture. Maybe someone drops guacamole on the cushions of your sectional deck sofa or tips over a glass wine onto the dining table in your screened-in porch. Suntan lotion is bound to get wiped onto poolside sunloungers at some point, and those are just of few of the ways people can muck up your pristine outdoor setting. Mother nature has plenty of tactics too. Wind, rain, sun, trees, bugs, birds, critters and many more things can dirty up and damage your furniture if you dont take preventative steps and clean it regularly. But woods, metals and plastics all need to be attended to a little differently.

Read Also: Wood Stain On Concrete Removal

How To Clean Teak Patio Furniture

Teak wood is an ideal material for your patio furniture because it is durable and doesnt take much in the way of cleaning and maintenance. Teak patio furniture will either be treated with teak oil or finely sanded to show off its natural form. Even though teak is naturally resistant to rot and mold, if not properly cleaned, mildew can still form on the surface of the furniture.

• 1 gallon of warm water

To prevent your teak patio furniture from becoming discolored and succumbing to mildew build-up, make sure you are cleaning it on a regular basis. The following tips are based on one of our natural homemade deck cleaner recipes and will provide you with ways to keep your teak furniture looking like new.

Teak Furniture Cleaning Recipe #2

• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 gallon of warm water

Use one of two easy homemade cleaning solutions either vinegar and warm water, or chlorine bleach, laundry detergent, and warm water. Apply the homemade cleaning solution to the furniture using a soft plastic brush, making sure to scrub the wood as you go.

Avoid using a metal brush as it will damage the woods surface. Remove water stains from wood before cleaning. Allow the mixture to sit for about 15 minutes before rinsing thoroughly with water.

If your teak furniture has seen a lot of exposure to the elements, youll want to look for a more aggressive, store-bought solution to clean the pieces. After cleaning, you may want to make furniture polish to bring back the shine to your teak furniture.

Spider Mites On Outdoor Furnishings

Spider mites are the tiny red spiders you may see on your furniture.

You dont want to squish them because they leave behind a pigmented streak. These tiny red spiders can be controlled similarly to regular spiders by using a combination of keeping the patio set clean.

The best way to remove them is to use a handheld vacuum cleaner.

This way you dont squish them and ruin your furnitures finish.

Additionally, you can use a wet sponge and soak it in a mixture of soapy water to wipe them off. Dont press hard.

After you remove them, use diatomaceous earth around your patio set. Plug it into the tiny holes and cracks you set has for nails and screws.

Use the powder around the legs of your chairs and table to stop them from crawling up onto the furniture. Put the DE in a rectangle formation around your entire yard as a perimeter barrier to keep spider mites out.

They seek out vegetation and dont usually nest in patio sets.

So if you see any, theyre most likely foraging for food. Remove or relocate plants that you have nearby the set. Plants that are unkempt and poorly maintained with harbor spider mites.

Recommended Reading: How To Keep Patio Furniture From Blowing Away

Why You Should Reuse Or Recycle Old Patio Furniture

Sometimes, patio furniture is too far gone to salvage. But if theres even a glimmer of hope for your old furniture, dont toss it to the curb!

The various materials used in patio furniture can sometimes make the disposal process complicated. If you were to leave your old furniture out for garbage pick-up, it could end up at your municipal dump, taking up space in a landfill.

Instead of putting your old furniture out on garbage day, consider the overall impact of these items in a landfill. Whenever possible, opt to repair, repurpose, donate, or recycle your old set of patio furniture.

This takes a bit of thought you need to determine what each pieces base material is and recycle accordingly. For example, if your old patio furniture is mostly metal, then contact a scrap metal dealer to pick it up.

Otherwise, consider these creative ways to reuse or recycle old patio furniture.

How Much Does Furniture Removal Cost

Trying to budget for your junk removal project? Furniture removal costs can vary greatly from location to location, but the price to get rid of furniture is generally determined by:

• The number of items youâre getting rid of.
• The total volume of your load.
• Whether you use a furniture removal service or dump it yourself.

Read Also: How To Measure For A Patio

Fabrics Caring For Outdoor Textiles

In the past, patio furniture was designed for a simple backyard barbecue with a Weber grill or an afternoon catching some rays by the pool. Most seating was casual and either folded or featured rubbery straps. Fabrication advances, coupled with a trend toward holistic architecture, has led to more elegant and upholstered pieces that blur the lines between indoor and outdoor spaces. These dining chairs, patio sectional sofas and lounge chairs feature modern designs with high-tech textiles that are durable under a variety of conditions. While most require very little attention, there are a few tips that can keep them in tip-top shape.

Synthetic Mesh

Most high-quality patio sling furniture is made from PVC coated polyester mesh. This strong synthetic textile is stretch and tear-resistant as well as relatively easy to clean . The resin coating protects the woven fibers from damage and fading from the sun and weather, while the perforations in the weave allow the material to dry quickly. Serge Ferraris Batyline and Twitchells Textilene are two sling fabrics that are popular with high-end outdoor brands. Clean sling pool furniture every three months to prevent mold and mildew from growing.

How To Keep Bugs Out Of Outdoor Storage

If you have bugs getting into your outdoor storage , there are some steps you can take to keep them out.

For starters, Id suggest switching over to plastic or airtight storage containers.

These are slightly pricier than using cardboard boxes, but there is a multitude of benefits.

Plastic containers can withstand heat, rain, wind, snow, and pretty much all weather conditions while cardboard will break down naturally over time. If youve ever opened up a box and got hit in the face with a billow of dust just to see silverfish running around, you know what I mean.

Those pests can squeeze through the smallest cracks or even chew through cardboard, so you should avoid using boxes to store your stuff.

Plastic containers also offer a complete seal. You can use any old Rubbermaid container or plastic storage crate to keep your stuff safe and stop bugs from getting in.

Theyll have a much harder time chewing through a thick layer of plastic, and your stuff will be protected from all elements outdoors.

Note that sunlight CAN make plastic brittle and break it down over time, but this is a slow process and you shouldnt be storing your stuff directly in the sunlight, to begin with. Use a tarp to protect them .

If youre really paranoid about bugs eating your old books, CDs, movies, films, magazines, antiques, or whatever else you keep in storage, get airtight containers.

Lastly, dont use boxes because theyre not secure.

Of course, make sure it doesnt damage your stored goods.

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Plastic Furniture Cleaner Made With White Vinegar

Plain vinegar works wonders as a plastic furniture cleaner. The acidity breaks up the build-up of dried food, bird droppings, and other sticky residue, making clean-up quick and easy.

Use vinegar on plastic furniture or for cleaning teak patio furniture. Tough stains may require additional treatment with this solution or one with harsher ingredients.

• Dry cloth

To make the best cleaner for outdoor furniture, fill a bucket with water, add the white vinegar, and stir the solution to mix well. Dip a soft brush into the cleaner and clean the patio furniture by scrubbing at the most hardened stains first.

Proceed to clean the rest of the piece of furniture. Rinse the chairs and table with clean water and place them into the sun to dry or wipe down with a dry cloth. Stubborn stains may require repeat treatment or use another cleaning solution.

Need More Help At Home

Now you know how to efficiently handle furniture bugs as well as bed bug infestations.

Remember that the first step is identifying what kind of pest you are dealing with. Once you know what youre dealing with, you can attempt a few quick DIY solutions.

But most likely, your invasion is bigger than you can see. So, ordering up a simple, safe and effective bug killer solution from SayByeBugs is THE way to go.

Enjoy your home again and get rid of your furniture bugs for good.

Check out our blog for more content like this. Enjoy content on everything from DIY solutions to frugal living.

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How To Clean Patio Furniture

By Joan Clark

With summer just around the corner, its time to break out the sunscreen, uncover the patio furniture and start up the grill. However, before you can start to enjoy your deck this summer, youll need to break out your cleaning supplies and clean your patio furniture. To keep your patio furniture in pristine condition, youll need to know how to clean patio furniture.

Remember to wash it often and keep it inside in the winter to keep it from staining. Patio furniture comes in a variety of materials, all of which require different methods for cleaning.

This article provides you with the simple steps to help make sure you are using the right supplies and getting your furniture ready for the summer, no matter the material. Read on and learn how to clean outdoor furniture.

How Do I Keep Bugs Off My Patio At Night

Keeping bugs away from your patio during the night can be tricky because you cant see them to pinpoint what exactly theyre eating or doing.

So the best solution to this is to use passive approaches that dont require you to be around to keep them away.

You can start by using some natural repellents like essential oils, cinnamon powder, diatomaceous earth, borax, and simply keeping your yard clean.

Additionally, you can add in sticky tape, fly traps, and spider traps to double down on securing your patio.

These approaches work 24/7 and dont rely on you to be present or constantly monitor them.

Note that many pests, including spiders and flying pests, are nocturnal.

This means theyre active during the nighttime hours when theres no sunlight.

Theyve adapted to this lifestyle to shield themselves from daytime predators and will only show themselves after dusk. You may never actually SEE bugs on your patio furniture, but theyre there at night.

And they may leave behind webs, dead bugs, or feces. If you constantly see some kind of organic debris left behind on your patio fabric, this may be due to some kind of nighttime pest.

You should start by setting up those natural defenses and see if you can get rid of the pest.

Recommended Reading: How To Paint Wrought Iron Outdoor Furniture

Furniture Removal & Pick Up

Getting rid of old furniture isnt an easy process. It’s heavy, awkward, hard to maneuver, and is nearly impossible to do on your own. You may even need extra hands and tools, such as a dolly, to move heavier pieces. Even if you can manage to convince someone to help you with the heavy lifting, you still have to drop it off for donation or at the dump on your own.

Plastics Taking Care Of Synthetic Deck Furniture

Plastic is lightweight, fade-resistant and can take on many different shapes, textures and styles. It also does not require paint or sealants used by other materials. That makes this synthetic polymer easy to maintain and a great inexpensive option for outdoor furniture. Cleaning and caring for plastic furniture is really dependent on the form it takes.

Sticky spills and drips like tree sap may require commercial products , but rubbing alcohol will suffice in many cases. Regardless of the solution you choose, its important that you immediately rinse these agents away once youve cleaned the problem areas. Extended exposure to the chemicals in some products can fade plastic and shorten the aesthetic lifespan of your patio furniture.

All-Weather Wicker Cleaning woven resin furniture

In the past, natural or painted white wicker furniture was used primarily for indoor or porch seating where there was at least some protection from the elements. That was needed because organic materials were used to make the weave. Contemporary synthetic wicker, however, provides all of the aesthetic qualities of a natural weave without the vulnerability to rain, sleet and snow . Cleaning the nooks and crannies in intricate resin wicker patio furniture does take a little effort though.

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