Running a business, whether a restaurant, hotel, or other hospitality venue, requires attention to every detail. Under the watchful eye of caring staff and thoughtful leaders, a business can flourish while creating lifelong loyalty from customers. With so much riding on the appearance of your establishment, cleanliness should be a top priority. For businesses utilizing an outdoor seating area, the furniture should be given routine care to ensure it looks beautiful and lives up to the expectations of customers. When it comes to caring for outdoor sofas, we have a few tips for outdoor sofa maintenance that might help.
Daily/Weekly
- During rain storms, either pull into a covered area or protect with a water-resistant tarp.
- If sofas do become wet, particularly the foam inside the cushions, allow them to dry by removing the foam from the upholstery to avoid any mildew or mold growing.
Weekly/Monthly
- Perform a thorough cleaning of both the frame and the cushions.
- Make sure you know which detergents and cleaning methods work best for your materials.
- Check any hardware, such as nuts or bolts on the frame, to ensure safety and support.
- Deal with any issues that have come up since the last cleaning, such as rust, discoloration, mold, mildew, or tears in the fabric.
Seasonally/Annually
- Assess and plan for storage needs during the fall and winter. Determine if you will need to store off-site or simply cover with a protective tarp.
- Clean and repair any damage before storing away for the off-season.
- Replace any missing nuts or bolts. Repair any rips in the upholstery or cushions.
These are the basics and make for a good routine to follow. When you properly schedule these necessary tasks, your staff will always know when they need to perform the maintenance. If you leave maintenance up to one individual’s idea of when the furniture needs it, you may run into problems. It is best to take the guesswork out of routine maintenance by running on a schedule, such as the one we have suggested.
