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How to look after a teak sun lounger through winter

Updated: October 2026

The lounger on your patio has gone grey after a British summer, the grain feels rough after rain, and a care tin is telling you to oil it. Those are three different things. Grey is the colour change outdoor teak makers describe. Raised grain is a surface you can ease back with a light sand after a wash. Oil is a finish choice, and it does not belong in the washing steps. This is how to look after a teak sun lounger if the frame is actually teak: soap, no pressure washer, feet off wet ground, and a cover only if you choose one. Species doubts stay on the [teak sun lounger buying guide](/hub/sun-loungers/teak-sun-lounger/sub/teak-sun-lounger-buying-guide). The [teak sun lounger comparison](/hub/sun-loungers/teak-sun-lounger) is the product grid, not a care manual. The Products Compared editorial team used RHS, Gloster, and Barlow Tyrie guidance, read on 16 October 2026, and did not weather-test these amazon.co.uk frames. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The lounger on your patio has gone grey after a British summer, the grain feels rough after rain, and a care tin is telling you to oil it. Those are three different things.

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On this page
  1. 1.Wash and grain
  2. 2.Grey, bleed, and the first months
  3. 3.Winter on a UK patio
  4. 4.A wash does not confirm the species

Wash and grain

Gloster’s teak care sheet says to clean outdoor teak once or twice a year with water and a mild detergent, not on a weekly schedule and not with a pressure washer. The RHS says much the same for garden seats: an annual wash with soapy water and a brush. That interval fits a UK patio better than a Saturday ritual. Pollen, bird mess, and a green film in a shady corner are dirt. The silver colour underneath, once the dirt is gone, is not. Work along the slats with a soft brush, then rinse with a hose or a bucket. Keep the jet gentle. A pressure washer lifts the grain, forces water into the joints, and can leave the surface furred even when the timber was sound. If the grain still feels rough after the lounger has dried, Gloster’s sheet allows a light sand. You are knocking back the raised fibres, not reshaping the frame. Stop when the surface is even. If a dark film has to be sanded and you cannot see sound timber underneath, stop and get someone who can tell you whether the wood is still there. Two of the amazon.co.uk listings already point at soap rather than a chemical regime. B0GY9CDWRS says mild soap, and B0GY95XN3P says the surface needs no chemical treatments. Those are seller lines, not a Gloster instruction written for these ASINs, and they still match the wash rather than a spring coat of oil. None of the six includes a cushion, so you are washing timber and, on the rope-back rows, rope.

Grey, bleed, and the first months

Teak used outdoors moves from golden brown toward silver grey. Gloster puts that change at about six months to two years. Barlow Tyrie attributes the silver to sunlight on untreated teak. The RHS describes the same shift and treats it as normal, not as rot. A protector is optional if you want the original colour, and it is a different product from teak oil. Whether you chase the honey colour at all is decided on teak oil or leave it grey. Do not add that decision to the wash. New teak can also bleed its own oil. Gloster says natural oil can come to the surface for about two to three months and mark pale stone. That is the wood, not a tin you forgot to apply. If the lounger sits on pale slabs, lift it or put something sacrificial underneath during those first months, and wipe spills rather than scrubbing them into the patio. Adding more oil because you can see a mark makes the bleed worse. Mildew in a joint is a cleaning problem, not a reason to oil. Wash it. A collapsing recline, a split stretcher, or a footrest that will not lock is a stop-use problem. Cleaning will not put the joint back.
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Winter on a UK patio

The RHS says oily hardwoods can stay outside if the feet are off wet ground, or you can use a cover. Standing water at the foot is the part that matters on a British patio, where winter rain sits in a low corner for weeks. Slip a pad or a tile under each foot so the end grain is not in a puddle. A cover is the alternative when you want the frame drier, not a requirement that the timber will rot without one. Two listings recommend a waterproof cover and do not put one in the box. B0GY9CDWRS says cover or indoor storage. B0HDP1JNPL recommends a waterproof cover. Included components on the rows that state them say no. Buy a cover as a separate item if you want one, and do not invent a product the listing never named. A cover that traps wet leaves against the wood is worse than no cover. Fit it over a dry frame, and take it off on a dry day so the timber can air. Folding the lounger into a shed is a storage choice, not a care step you can measure from these pages. Four listings claim a fold and none prints a folded size, which is why that measurement lives on the folding teak sun lounger page.

A wash does not confirm the species

If the frame’s species is still the open question, because the listing weighs about 5 kg or prints no weight at all, these wash steps are only a way to keep the surface clean. They do not confirm teak. A grey colour on the wrong species is still just a colour, and oil will not correct the description.

Common questions

How often should I clean a teak sun lounger?
Once or twice a year is the Gloster interval, with water and a mild detergent. The RHS describes an annual soapy wash with a brush. Weekly washing is not what those sources ask for. Deal with bird mess when you see it, and leave the seasonal wash to do the film.
Can I pressure-wash it?
No. Gloster’s sheet says not to use a power washer. A strong jet raises the grain and drives water into the joints. Use a brush, soapy water, and a gentle rinse. If the grain is rough after it dries, a light sand is the next step, not a harder jet.
Is grey a sign it is rotting?
Not on the timetable these makers publish. Untreated outdoor teak goes silver grey in sunlight, in Gloster’s range of about six months to two years, and Barlow Tyrie and the RHS describe the same change. Rot is soft, crumbling timber, not a silver surface that still feels firm after you have washed the dirt off.
What do I do when the grain feels rough after rain?
Let the lounger dry, then sand lightly along the grain to take down the raised fibres. Gloster allows that after cleaning. You are not stripping the frame. Stop if you hit a black film and cannot see sound wood, and do not follow the sand with a coat of oil unless you have already accepted the risks on the oil page.
Should it come inside for a British winter?
It can stay out. The RHS says oily hardwoods may remain outside if the feet are lifted off wet ground, with a cover as the alternative. Clear standing water at the feet. A cover is useful when you want the frame drier, and it is not supplied with the listings that merely recommend one.
Will new teak stain the patio?
It can, for a short period. Gloster says the wood’s own oil may bleed for about two to three months and mark pale stone. That is not a cue to add teak oil. Lift the lounger or protect the slabs until the bleed eases, and wipe marks rather than working them in.
The listing says use a cover. Is the cover in the box?
No, on the rows that mention one. B0GY9CDWRS and B0HDP1JNPL recommend a cover or indoor storage, and the included-components fields that exist say no. Budget for a separate cover if you want one, and air the frame on dry days so a cover does not hold damp leaves against the wood.

Related pages

Best teak sun lounger

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Teak sun lounger buying guide: checks before you pay

Folding teak sun lounger when the shed is the limit

Teak oil or leave teak grey after a British summer

Sources

Sources from the research digest; amazon.co.uk prices dated 16 October 2026.

  1. Timber Development UK, teak (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. CIRAD Tropix teak sheet (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK, timber regulations and FLEGT licences (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. BSI, BS EN 581-1:2017 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Gloster, teak care (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. RHS, maintaining garden seats and tables (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)