How to clean a rattan armchair
Updated: 23 October 2026
You have had the chair through a dusty week, or you have found dark spots in the weave after a damp spell, and you want to clean it without turning the fibre soggy. How to clean a rattan armchair depends on whether the weave is natural cane, polyethylene wicker, or a linen chair that only has rattan on one panel. One hose method ruins the first and is only a rough wash for the second. The five chairs in the [rattan armchair comparison](/hub/garden-furniture/rattan-armchair) are indoor listings, not a patio PE set. Peter F. used maker care notes and those listings. This is not a wash test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have had the chair through a dusty week, or you have found dark spots in the weave after a damp spell, and you want to clean it without turning the fibre soggy.
You have had the chair through a dusty week, or you have found dark spots in the weave after a damp spell, and you want to clean it without turning the fibre soggy. How to clean a rattan armchair depends on whether the weave is natural cane, polyethylene wicker, or a linen chair that only has rattan on one panel. One hose method ruins the first and is only a rough wash for the second. The five chairs in the rattan armchair comparison are indoor listings, not a patio PE set. Peter F. used maker care notes and those listings. This is not a wash test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Material | Care line | Cushion | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Desser Desser Teardrop wicker chair | Natural rattan | Wipe clean | Not included | 8.5 | about £206.00 | View offer |
| Best value |  ZRIZAURA ZRIZAURA Norna rattan armchair | Rattan, bamboo, lacquer | Treat as indoor rattan | Seat pad | 6.5 | about £129.99 | View offer |
 RBFGYIOP RBFGYIOP wood chair, rattan arms | Linen, rattan arms | Dust the rattan panel | Included | 5.0 | about £97.99 | View offer |
Which chair you are cleaning
Look at the material line before you fill a bucket. Natural cane is a plant fibre. It is what the Desser Teardrop states, and the listing's care attribute says wipe clean. The Norna is hand-woven rattan with bamboo and a clear acrylic lacquer named beside it, plus a seat pad whose cover care is not stated. Polyethylene rattan is plastic woven over a frame. None of the five kept chairs is that product, so the PE steps below are for a garden wicker chair you already own, not for a row in the table.
The £97.99 chair has rattan on the armrests and grey linen on the seat. The ARTEMOTUS chair has a rattan back and a linen cushion. The £149.99 chair has rattan sides and a cover described as boucle in the title and as linen in a bullet. You do not hose those. Water on linen or boucle is a stain problem, and water sitting in a wood joint is a swell problem. Dust the rattan panel with a soft cloth, and treat the fabric from its own care label if one exists. Cover care for those cushions is not stated. If you are still deciding which material to buy, the fork is on the natural rattan versus PE page. The order of questions before you buy is the rattan armchair buying guide.
Natural cane
Dust first, with a soft cloth or a soft brush, so you are not rubbing grit into the weave. Daro's indoor cane guidance uses a soft cloth, with polish on the cloth if you want it, not poured onto the frame. For a mark, wring the cloth until it is damp rather than wet, wipe, and dry the spot. The Desser's own attribute is wipe clean, which matches that limit. Do not hose a natural rattan armchair, and do not leave it on the patio to rinse in the rain. Cane Industries tells owners to use a damp cloth only and to dry the chair fully, out of direct sun.
Mould is the point where a quick wipe is not enough, and where more water can make it worse if the room stays shut. Daro's note is to brush the mould, wash with warm soapy water, then ventilate. They also want the room over 18 °C. That temperature is their indoor guidance, not a thermostat law. Cane Industries aims at about 40 to 50 per cent relative humidity for conservatory furniture. If the spots return after a careful clean, the room is cold or shut. Deal with ventilation and sun before you repeat the wash. A failed joint, mould that will not stop, or a rental setting is the point to call someone who repairs cane. If the chair is already in a glazed room, the room is part of the job, which is the rattan chair for a conservatory page. The Norna's lacquer line does not turn it into outdoor plastic.
PE weave
Polyethylene can take more water than cane, and it still has a limit. Harts Furniture, writing about their synthetic garden furniture, describes brushing off dirt, washing with warm soapy water, rinsing, and drying. That is a cloth and a soft brush, not a pressure washer. Harbour Lifestyle notes that PE still fades in UV, and that a breathable cover is the one to use once the frame is dry. A tight cover on a wet chair holds damp against the weave.
Do not use this wash on the Desser or the Norna. If you bought cane for a patio and you are now hosing it, the material was the wrong one. That decision sits on the natural rattan versus PE page linked above, not in a stronger jet wash.
The cushion and drying
The cushion is a separate object. Rattan Direct's cushion note says to read the care label, use a mild detergent, blot a stain rather than scrub it, and skip the pressure washer. Do not copy any suggestion that an unlabelled cover is probably machine-safe. If there is no label, the instruction is missing. Lazy Susan's retailer practice, which is not a law, puts removable covers around 30 °C and says not to machine-wash the sponge or tumble-dry the covers. Follow the label when it exists. When it does not, do not tumble a foam pad.
Winter storage is the cushion coming indoors, including on a PE chair whose frame can stay out. Harts stores cushions indoors in autumn and winter. A weave described as weatherproof does not make the foam safe on a wet UK patio from November to March. Drying is part of the clean. Stand the chair where air can move, not against a cold wall and not in a hard shaft of sun while it is still damp. Do not pull a waterproof cover over a damp cane frame.
Common questions
Can I hose a natural rattan armchair?
No. Natural cane is a plant fibre, and the Desser listing's care line is wipe clean. Daro and Cane Industries both keep water to a soft or damp cloth, then a full dry. A hose drives water into the joints and the weave, which is how cane rots when it cannot dry. The Norna names lacquer as well as rattan, and that still does not make a hose the method. Save the hose language for polyethylene garden wicker.
How do I clean PE wicker without a pressure washer?
Brush loose dirt, wash with warm soapy water on a cloth or soft brush, rinse the soap off, and dry the frame before you cover it. That is the sequence Harts describes for synthetic rattan. A pressure washer can force water into the frame joints and shred a loose weave. Harbour Lifestyle also notes that PE fades in sun, so a breathable cover after drying is the protection, not a hotter wash.
What should I do about mould on cane?
Brush the loose growth off, then wash with warm soapy water and dry the chair in a ventilated room. Daro pairs that clean with a room over 18 °C. If the marks return, the conservatory or the spare room is staying damp and shut, and another soak will not fix the air. Open the room, cut the cold corners, and only then clean again. A joint that has gone soft is a repair, not a household wash.
Can I machine-wash the cushion cover?
Only if the care label says so. Where retailers state a temperature, Harts and Lazy Susan both talk about around 30 °C, and they say not to tumble-dry covers and not to machine-wash the foam sponge. That is retailer practice, not a rule for every pad. The Norna includes a pad and does not state cover care. The Desser includes no cushion. An unlabelled cover is not a guess at a machine cycle.
How do I dry the chair afterwards?
Air it until the weave and the joints are dry, out of direct sun while it is still damp, and do not cover it wet. Cane Industries wants a full dry. A PE frame has the same cover rule from Harbour Lifestyle: dry first, then a breathable cover. A foam pad should drip and air, not go in a tumble dryer. If the room has no airflow, move the chair for the afternoon rather than leaving it against a cold wall.
What if the cover has no label?
Do not assume it is machine-safe. The label is the instruction, and a missing one is a gap. Blot a spill, use a barely damp cloth on the spot, and ask the seller what the cover is before you commit a whole cushion to a wash. That applies to the linen cushions on the trim chairs in this set as well, where removable-cover care is not in the listing.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked on 21 October 2026. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved for this set. There is no laboratory test.
- BBC Gardeners' World, rattan garden furniture (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, furniture fire safety amendment 2025 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- FIRA, furniture flammability advice for consumers, June 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- BSI, BS EN 581-2:2015 outdoor seating (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
- Daro, indoor cane and rattan care (retrieved 21 October 2026)