Living with teak: what to expect, and what to ignore
Teak silvers. That is not damage, and almost everything sold to prevent it is unnecessary.
How often does outdoor teak furniture need oiling?
Never, if you are happy for it to silver. Teak contains enough natural oil to survive outdoors untreated for decades. Oiling only preserves the honey colour, and it must then be repeated every six months or the finish goes blotchy.
The short version
What actually happens to teak outdoors
Left alone, teak loses its honey colour over roughly nine months and settles into an even silver-grey. This is a surface change of about 0.1mm. The timber underneath is unaffected, and its structural life is measured in decades.
What people mistake for damage is almost always uneven silvering — the result of rain reaching some parts of a piece and not others.
The same chair, eighteen months apart, washed twice a year.
Caring for it, in four steps
Brush off loose dirt
A soft brush, dry, along the grain. Never across it.
Wash with mild soap
Warm water and a little dish soap. Pressure washers raise the grain and do lasting harm.
Rinse and let it dry fully
A full day in open air. Trapped moisture is what grows mildew.
Repeat twice a year
Before and after the monsoon is the easiest schedule to remember.
- Untreated lifespan
- 25–50 years outdoors
- Colour change
- Honey to silver-grey over ~9 months
- Cleaning
- Mild soap and water, twice yearly
- Oiling
- Optional; cosmetic only
The clients who are happiest with teak are the ones nobody told to oil it.
Parth Patel, Founder, Ritzlane
Pieces in this guide
Can I bring teak indoors in winter?
You can, but you do not need to. Teak is unaffected by cold; only prolonged damp with no airflow causes problems.
Will silvering weaken the joints?
No. Silvering is a surface change roughly 0.1mm deep. The joints are unaffected.
What if it has gone patchy?
A light sand with 120-grit along the grain evens it out, then let it silver again.