Patio furniture is vulnerable to environmental abnormalities (or normalities!) such as rainstorms, heat, snow, etc. Of them, rainwater can damage patio furniture excessively, doesn’t matter if it is made of wood, iron, or wicker. That’s why, to save your precious patio furniture, covers are very important. But the problem doesn’t end there, as an excessive amount of rainwater can create a pooling effect on the furniture cover quite easily. This may lead to a side effect on your patio furniture and even damage it substantially.
So, what can you do to keep water from pooling on the patio furniture cover? For your information, there are a lot of conventional and proven methods to prevent water from pooling on a patio furniture cover. They are simple, inexpensive, and need little or no time to execute. Read thoroughly to understand why water creates pooling on a patio cover, a bunch of the easiest solutions to keep water from pooling on patio furniture cover, points to consider for better pooling-preventing cover, and many more!
Key Takeaways
- Water pooling on a patio furniture cover imposes several risks to the furniture and the cover.
- Keep a high ground in the center to help the rain waters slide away instantly.
- Do early covering of the patio furniture to avoid improper covering, when it has started raining.
- The size of the patio furniture cover should be as per your storage arrangement in the rain.
Reasons for Water Pooling on Patio Furniture Cover
Before going to the solution part, let us understand the reasons behind water pooling on the patio furniture cover. Some of the reasons are more important than you may think. The reasons:
- Cover Is Too Big: One of the basic reasons for water pooling on patio furniture cover is the cover itself is too big. If the cover size was similar to the area it intended to cover, then most likely this issue wouldn’t have occurred. The bigger cover creates a loose spot between the furniture underneath. That’s where the rainwater gets stuck and creates water pooling easily.
- Height Of The Furniture: The height of the patio furniture is important too. A patio setup may consist of more than one chair. Often there is a table and other furniture too which creates an uneven surface between them while covered. When the rainwater pours over the cover, it creates several deviations in water flow. Thus water pooling happens in places where the furniture is short in height.
- Improper Drainage: Water pooling on a patio furniture cover can happen due to an improper drainage system. By that, I meant the cover may not have been placed properly. They should be placed correctly by considering the horizontal elevation of the top point, where you want the water should go, etc.
- Too Much Rainfall: In an excessive amount of rainfall case, the cover may not simply handle the water amount properly, causing water pooling. All the covers aren’t designed and made equally. A thin layered cover will not be able to cope properly with such a high amount of water.
Ways To Keep Water From Pooling On Patio Furniture Cover
Now it is time to jump onto the methods that you can to keep from pooling on patio furniture cover. Some of the methods may look unorthodox to you at first glance but they will work just fine.
Use A High Central Ground
Putting a high ground is important in the middle is important to keep water from pooling. You can use a bucket or stand in the middle of your patio setup. It will create a slightly angular elevation and lead the waters to slide off without pooling. Put a bucket upside down over a flat surface before covering. One important thing to remember is that the height of the bucket should be more than the cover can cover. Otherwise, the furniture bottoms may get exposed to the rain.
But if you have a patio table in the backyard that is high enough to cover the chairs, then you can use it as the central high ground.
Arrange The Furniture Closer
Another useful way is to arrange the furniture closer. Keep the chair pushed front and angled by the table, and minimize the gap between them as short as possible. It will create a comparably even surface to put the cover on. If the chairs are in even numbers then you can set them one above another by flipping, put a board or something flat above that. This will greatly reduce the area consumption and will leave no space for pooling.
Try arranging your patio furniture in your convenient way, when it is not raining to prepare yourself for when it will be needed.
Self-Draining Covers
Self-draining covers are a more professional approach to covering your patio furniture. They are not makeshift covers that leave a risk of flipping and pooling. Self-draining covers are well structured and made specifically to cover certain furniture. This allows you to cover your patio chair, table, sofa, and other furniture with their own-sized covers. These covers are self-draining in the sense that their strong design structure drains every drop of rainwater instantly.
Many patio furniture supplier provides default cover with their furniture. You can also make them at your house if you do a little research on how to make them.
Water-Shedding Poles
Water-shedding poles are specially made poles for creating a high ground for the covers to put. They are plastic-fabricated, steel-made poles that will give a tent-like shape to your furniture covering. If you have a patio table that has a parasol hole on it this pole is best for you. Also, you can create a base pivot for the pole to stand on. With the proper amount of covering, you will be able to cover a lot of furniture beneath it.
Weighted Bags and Clips
Weighted bags and clips are very helpful to keep water from pooling on the patio cover. You may have seen their use in camping tents for a similar reason. Weighted bags work as a supportive base to tie the edges of the cover. This allows the cover surface in angular, tight tension for the water to pass. Without this, the weight of the water surpluses than the cover bearing capacity easily.
You can collect such bags and fill them with sand, stone, and other materials. Use the clips to attach the cover’s edges with the weighted bags.
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4 Key Points to Consider for Choosing Patio Furniture Cover
To have a proper covering of your patio furniture from rain, dust, and other elements, it is important to have the best patio furniture cover. These covers are different in the sense that they provide shelter from harsh weather than indoor ones. So you may want to consider the below points for having a patio furniture cover.
- Size Of The Cover: The size of the cover is very important because an improper-sized cover can damage your furniture in many ways. To determine the size of the cover, first, you need to rearrange the furniture together, just the way you will keep them while covered. It will give you the closest measurement of how much cover you need.
- Water Resisting Ability: The most important feature of a cover is its ability to water resisting. Choose a high-graded acrylic fabric with a water-resistant material coat. They are not only good at water resisting but also durable against colorfastness.
- Thickness Of The Fabric: The thickness of the cover has a great impact on preventing water from pooling. If the fabric GSM (Gram Per Square Meter) is dense then the fabric will be thicker. That will make the cover more durable against hard rain and, it will be able to bear much water without creating water pooling.
- Additional Features: If you are a pro-backyarder then you will look for additional features in your patio furniture cover. These features may include but are limited to tie-down ribbons, side vents, customized shaping, etc. These features will allow you to take care of your patio furniture even better.
FAQs
1. Why is my patio pooling water?
Your patio setup can face pooling water due to several reasons. Check the drainage system to see if it has clogged with external debris. The soil can also be polluted with non-composed wastes which reduces the natural soaking capacity.
2. Do patios need drainage?
Yes, of course, patios need a drainage system. Because patios are mostly made of concrete, if it doesn’t have a drainage system then the whole backyard will be drained after a little rain.
3. Why is my patio cover leaking?
Patio covers can leak due to several reasons such as it has developed a recent leak, some of the cover portion getting thinner, the joins of the patio cover soaking water through narrow holes, etc.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, unlike the water pooling that happens on the soil surface, water pooling on a cover doesn’t soak away quickly. As the cover fabric is water resistant, the only way they will naturally fade away is by vaporizing. Which can take a lot of time and even cost you in the worst scenario. Too much water pooling can flip the cover away and cause your furniture to be wet. Water pooling can also damage the cover itself. So it is wiser to take precautionary steps to plan your steps for dealing with the rain waters from pooling. For easy relief, you can start with any of the methods mentioned above for the time being.
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I am Donald M. Beyer and I am backyard enthusiasts. I am a homeowner who has been doing DIY projects in and out of my house for many years. From simple backyard lunches to making an old-school pizza oven in my own backyard, I have a lot of experience in turning my backyard into my and my family’s personal playground.