How to look after an aluminium sun lounger
Updated: October 2026
The lounger has been out since May, the cushions are still on it, and a forecast of overnight frost has just landed. Aluminium can live in a UK garden. That sentence is often heard as permission to ignore the sling, the cover, and a tube that already kinks when you fold it. Looking after an aluminium sun lounger means three different jobs: the frame, the soft parts, and the fixings. Wipe and cover the frame, store the soft parts dry, and stop using the bed if the structure has failed. Product choice stays on the [aluminium sun lounger comparison](/hub/sun-loungers/aluminium-sun-lounger). Products Compared editorial team, 16 October 2026. There is no lab weathering test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
The lounger has been out since May, the cushions are still on it, and a forecast of overnight frost has just landed. Aluminium can live in a UK garden.
The lounger has been out since May, the cushions are still on it, and a forecast of overnight frost has just landed. Aluminium can live in a UK garden. That sentence is often heard as permission to ignore the sling, the cover, and a tube that already kinks when you fold it. Looking after an aluminium sun lounger means three different jobs: the frame, the soft parts, and the fixings. Wipe and cover the frame, store the soft parts dry, and stop using the bed if the structure has failed. Product choice stays on the aluminium sun lounger comparison. Products Compared editorial team, 16 October 2026. There is no lab weathering test. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Lying surface | Item weight | Canopy | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Lichfield Lichfield Deluxe folding sun lounger | 600D polyester | 4.5 kg | No | 9.0 | about £46.39 | View offer |
 Homecall Homecall 30039 XXL with sun roof | Textilene with foam | 9.2 kg | Yes | 7.8 | about £124.81 | View offer | |
 ATR ATR aluminium garden recliner | Foam cushion | 1.47 kg listed | No | 7.4 | about £189 | View offer |
On this page
What can stay outside
The powder-coated aluminium frame is the part that usually stays out. Garden Ornaments’ winter guidance treats coated aluminium as outdoor furniture, with cushions brought in and steel fixings checked. Harbour Lifestyle makes the same split for aluminium sets: the frame can remain outside, the cushions come indoors, and a breathable cover is the right shell. A sealed plastic tarp holds damp against the sling and the coat. Which? adds the limit that matters in a gale: aluminium does not form red iron rust the way untreated iron does, and it can still corrode, and a light frame can blow across the patio. A cover is not an anchor.
Hollow tube collects water. If a freeze is forecast, Harbour’s advice is to avoid leaving water pooled in those sections. Tip the folded bed so the ends can drain, then cover it. On the Homecall 30039, UK reviews already describe a rusty bracket. That rust is a steel part on an aluminium frame, which is why a silver tube can look fine while a hinge weeps. The difference between aluminium and a steel bed, including what still corrodes, is set out on the aluminium vs steel sun lounger page. Once the frame has a vented cover and the cushion is indoors, cleaning is the next job, and it has to happen before the cover goes on a wet sling.
Clean the sling and the coat
Textilene, the PVC-coated polyester mesh used on many of these beds, drains. Sefton Meadows still recommends a cover in a downpour, because drainage is not the same as leaving the bed under a week of rain with a pillow on it. Wash the mesh with warm water and a mild soap, rinse it, and let it dry before you fit the cover. This page does not name a solvent, a bleach mix, or a pressure-washer setting. A harsh jet can drive water into the tube ends and lift the powder coat at the welds.
The Lichfield’s 600D polyester sling is a taut fabric, not a mesh that sheds a storm. Sponge it, rinse it, and dry it flat enough that the fold does not shut on a wet patch. Foam and loose cushions, including the Homecall’s quick-dry pad and the ATR’s thick cushion, come indoors even when the afternoon was dry. Colour fade shows up in Homecall reviews. Faded fabric is a wear report, and a wipe will not restore the dye. A chipped powder coat is a smaller event than a bent tube. Keep the chip dry. Leave a full rub-back to bare metal alone. If the metal under the chip is already pitted, that is corrosion, and Which? is clear that aluminium can corrode even though the stain is not red iron rust.
Dry the bed, then cover it. Covering a damp sling is how a breathable cover still grows mould. After a day at the coast, the same dry-then-cover order applies once you have rinsed the salt, which the aluminium sun lounger for the beach page treats as part of the carry home.
Fold and store without kinking the tube
Fold on a dry frame, with the sling free of grit, and watch the bar as it closes. The failure this set actually records is on the Homecall: UK reviews describe bars that buckle when the bed is folded. If the tube takes a new bend as you close it, stop. Another fold turns the kink into the stored shape. There is no torque figure and no home-straightening method on this page, because bending it back is how a weakened tube meets the next person who sits down.
The Lichfield bullets give a folded size of 80 × 61 × 16 cm, which is small enough for a shed shelf if the live page agrees. A separate spec field says that bed is not foldable, so use the size you can see in the product, not the more convenient line. Push-on feet need to be seated before you store the bed on its end. The Amazon Basics listing, whose frame metal is unconfirmed, has a UK review of plastic feet coming off and the lounger tipping. That is a stability fault. Washing the feet does not put them back as a structural fix.
Through winter, the coated frame can stay under a vented cover, the cushion stays in the house, and a light bed needs a reason not to migrate in a storm. Which? flags light aluminium blowing away. A cover without weight, or without a sheltered corner, leaves that problem open. If you are still choosing the bed, width and load are a buying decision. Care starts only after the frame you own is the frame you meant to buy.
When care is the wrong response
Stop and use the retailer when the structure has already failed. A kinked tube, a lock that drops someone, or feet that have already caused a fall are not a cleaning job. The Homecall review that describes a rusty bracket and repeated replacements is a return conversation. So is a VOUNOT pair review in which the beds collapse as you try to get off. Electrical add-ons, if you were tempted to clip a light to the frame, are a different product with a different safety job.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 expects satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, and a match to the description. You have 30 days to reject faulty goods, and after that the usual path is one repair or replacement. The practical route for a sun lounger that arrived bent, or that failed in ordinary folding, is set out in your rights on a faulty sun lounger. Keep the listing, the photos of the kink or the missing foot, and the date you noticed it. A wipe-down is for dirt. A bent bar is for the seller.
Common questions
Can an aluminium sun lounger stay out all winter?
A powder-coated aluminium frame usually stays outside under a breathable cover. Bring cushions and foam pads indoors. Tip hollow sections so water does not sit in them before a freeze. Which? notes that aluminium can still corrode, and that light frames blow away, so the cover needs ventilation and the bed needs a sheltered spot. A winter outside is normal for the tube. It is a bad plan for the cushion.
Do I bring the cushion in?
Yes. Harbour Lifestyle and Garden Ornaments both send cushions indoors, including when the frame is happy outside. That includes a loose pad and the thick cushion on a recliner such as the ATR. Quick-dry foam still holds damp if it stays under a wet cover. The sling can be cleaned and dried on the frame. The soft part comes into the house.
Is a plastic tarp enough?
A sealed plastic sheet traps moisture against the powder coat and the fabric. Use a breathable furniture cover that can vent, and put it on only once the sling is dry. In a downpour, textilene drains, and a cover is still worth using. A tarp from the shed is the option that grows mould on a bed you thought you had protected.
What if the powder coat chips?
Keep the chip dry and leave aggressive sanding alone. A small chip is a different problem from a buckled bar. If the aluminium under the chip is pitted, that is corrosion. Which? is explicit that aluminium can corrode even though it does not throw red iron rust. Steel screws and brackets on the same frame can rust in the ordinary way, so check the fixings when you check the chip.
The bar bends when I fold it. Should I keep folding it?
Stop. Homecall reviews describe bars that buckle during folding. Another fold sets the kink. Do not straighten the tube at home. Photograph it and take it to the retailer as a fault. Care covers dirt, covers, and dry storage. It ends when the structure has changed shape.
The feet fell off. Is that a clean or a return?
It is a return if the bed has tipped or the feet will not stay on. An Amazon Basics review describes plastic feet pushing off the frame and the lounger tipping. Washing the feet does not restore that joint. Stop using the bed and follow the faulty-goods route, especially inside the first 30 days. After a beach day, rinse salt off with fresh water, dry the bed, and cover it only once it is dry.
Related pages
Sources
Sources from the research digest; amazon.co.uk prices and stars dated 16 October 2026.
- Which? how to buy sun loungers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Which? make garden furniture last longer (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- GOV.UK General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- GOV.UK furniture fire safety amendment 2025 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- BSI, outdoor furniture seating, BS EN 581-2 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- Harbour Lifestyle aluminium furniture care (retrieved 16 October 2026)
- NHS sunscreen and sun safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)