Living along the coast in Perth it is essential to frequently wash and wipe down the patio tubing keeping the patio beams and posts generally clean as the increased salt and minerals in the air and rain will attach and stick to the tubing and eat through the powder coating in a short space of time if its allowed to sit and accumulate.
Here are some important do’s and don’ts, please read thoroughly before cleaning the patio :
- Don’t use a high pressure washer – it can blow off all of the touch up paint and peel off powder coating.
- After washing and wiping the tubing down with a micro-fiber cloth, it must be left totally clean and dry and looking brand new with no white circles or dried water left on it at all. Hosing alone is not enough, the left over water will dry and leave more white marks – it must be wiped down clean and dry after its been hosed, don’t let it drip dry!
- Most patios will look like picture 1 below, this is totally normal as throughout the course of a year it will accumulate grime, dust and minerals etc. The aim of washing and wiping clean the patio beams down is to rid the patio of these deposits and take it back to looking brand new with no left over dried water marks or other deposits.
- CLR is an excellent product for removing this build up, please follow the exact directions on the bottle – use warm water and dry the beams off with a micro-fiber cloth afterwards.
- If you live in an area with particularly hard water, its even more important to dry off the tubing after hosing it down, if you leave the water to dry even more nasty stuff will be left behind.
Here is what it looks like as it progresses from manageable to a complete write off – Once the framework gets to the last picture it is almost impossible to save as the minerals and salt have built up a thick film so throughout the next few years keep an eye out for the formation of these deposits and if sighted, hose down and wipe the entire structure clean and dry.
If you have a car / caravan / other toys in the way, move them right out of the way and do it properly.
This would also be a great time to get up and check that all the gutters and downpipes are clear of leaves and debris that will obstruct the downpipes and stop water flowing around the gutters which is the cause of most of the water issues.
White salt circles forming
along the bottom edge
Salt is now sticking across
and around the beams
All sides are now covered
in salt and minerals
Tubing is completely covered in minerals & powder coat is now failing
