mouldy and off colour outdoor furniture

With the wet weather and high humidity, my outdoor wood (supposedly teak) furniture is off colour ( used to be shellaced colour) and mouldy. There is also a widening gap between the joints of the table and chairs - I never expected this since they are outdoor furnitures!!! Any suggestions what can be done to alleviate the problem? Will sanding and treatment for wood help?


Thanks so much.

Even teak will change color in this climate.


Get some fine sandpaper and sand it. Then use soap and water to clean it and get the mold off. Finally apply outdoor furniture wax (Shambala has some if you can't find it anywhere else). You have to keep periodically applying wax.

You can get some proper teak protector from the outdoor stores at Horizon Plaza ... and once you've treated it, buy a cover for it (many available in Horizon Plaza) to protect it when not in use.

Of cause sun dry, sand and then wax.

I don't suggest to use soap water to clean up mold since area after surface after soap application will easily attract mould again. You can track this from your bathroom shower area. Use diluted bleach instead will be recommended if necessary.

You can see most outdoor furnitures designed to have gaps between rails of wood for planes such as table top and chair back. It is because not only for water passage, also it give tolerance for the timber distortion in changing of humidity. Don't blame on the furniture quanlity, that's the nature material's charateristic.

Teak is already a good selection since it normal will only shink instead of expand. For the joints' gaps, you can just add screws or nails to prevent from loose. If you do mind to see the gap, some guys will apply "No-more-gap" filler in teak color and then cover up w/. lacquer paint however not recommended because it's not long lasting since the filler will easily loose in humid environment.

I would say it would be teak, thats just the way it goes in this weather. I use a high pressure water blaster, even my cheap one does the job in taking the mould off. Then get a rag with some teak oil & wipe it over. Comes up looking great again. Something I learn't the other day with a warning that came with my new deck chairs, don't store old rags that you have used with teak oil as it can ignite without any open flame.

"don't store old rags that you have used with teak oil as it can ignite without any open flame."


You can put them in a sealed plastic bag.