If your rattan garden furniture is weatherproof then yes it can be left outside and get wet without damaging the furniture itself.
However how do you know if it is weatherproof or not?
Well you can usually work this out by considering 3 things:
How to determine weatherproofing through the material?
The quality of materials used to create your rattan furniture is one of the main factors into making it weatherproof. The two key areas to check are:
- An aluminium frame: this is important because aluminium will not rust, and so if the manufacturer says the frame is aluminium then this part can get wet without it damaging it.
- UV stabilized synthetic rattan threads: this is important because the quality of the plastic determines if it will degrade when left outside. The UV stabilization part is mainly for sunlight, but it also indicates the quality of materials used.
How to determine weatherproofing through the price?
Simply put, quality furniture costs more money to make, and therefore the price to you the customer will be significantly more than a non-weatherproof set.
If you paid under £360 for a rattan dining set with 4 chairs in the last 5 years, the odds are that the materials used are not weatherproof, and it will most likely need a cover and eventually rust if left outside.
The average price of a weatherproof 4 seater rattan dining set is around the £650 mark, and even more if it comes with reclining chairs.
Rocking chairs video:
Reclining garden chairs video:
How to determine weatherproofing through the weight?
Now while this doesn't tell you anything about the rattan weave, it will suggest to you whether or not the frame is aluminium.
As we mentioned before, aluminium doesn't rust but is more expensive, so often manufacturers will use steel instead to keep the cost down.
Obviously the downside to this is that steel rusts, but the tell tale sign of this is that steel is much heavier!
So all you have to do is try lifting a chair. If it feels even slightly strenuous to lift, the odds are that it's made from steel and will rust.
You can find out more information on synthetic rattan furniture on our FAQ page here.
Remember you can shop the full range of our garden furniture on our website here.
