– Your Scottsdale Home AZ: Fabrics for Outdoor Living –
We are very fortunate here in Arizona…for many reasons, but today, I am referring specifically to our climate. The idea of outdoor living is appealing to many and our homes are reflecting that concept with full glass walls that retract into pockets and allow the inside space to mesh seamlessly with the outdoor space.
There has been a nice selection of outdoor materials over the years, but lately it’s becoming hard to distinguish between what is intended for outdoors and indoors. Both hard surface materials and fabrics have become interchangeable with the out of doors and should be chosen for their unique characteristics.
As it relates to textiles, Sunbrella® fabrics are the mainstay for outdoor furniture, cabanas and umbrella canopies. The quality that makes these fabrics so durable is built in by virtue of the dyeing process. Many regular fabrics, (intended for indoor use), are printed or dyed via any number of processes that apply the color to the fabric that’s already woven. For example, take silk screening. These prints will not hold up in direct sunlight over long periods of time because the dye is applied to the surface of the woven fiber as opposed to being an integral part of the fabric itself.
Fabrics intended for outdoor use, more commonly known as Sunbrella fabrics, are solution dyed acrylics, hence their sun resistance. What this means is that when the acrylic fiber is in liquid form, the dye is added and then the liquid is extruded into the fiber, then woven into fabric. This makes the color integral with the fiber, and subsequently the woven fabric becomes resistant to fading from direct sun and lasts far longer.
UV stabilizers are also added to these fabrics. A UV stabilizer is a product which is designed to prevent or slow color loss caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
However, over time, the elements will eventually wear on anything, so maintenance of your outdoor fabrics is critical to longevity. One of the best ways to keep Sunbrella fabrics looking good and to delay degradation is to regularly clean them. Simply brushing off dirt before it becomes embedded in the fabrics, wiping up spills as soon as they occur or spot cleaning soon after stains occur should keep your fabrics vibrant for many years.
More Information:
Robyn Randall, ASID
Designs by Robyn LLC
Email
Website: www.DesignsByRobyn.com
Twitter: @RobynASID
