How To Properly Maintain Your Garden Statues

 The addition of garden statues or ornaments to your backyard, courtyard and even balcony can be wonderful. They provide great visuals when the sun is shining and are a wonderful element to consider for your space.

To get the most out of this stunning garden decor element, you do need to provide regular maintenance. Not only will maintaining garden statues help you keep it looking fresh and new for any guests, but it will also increase the life of your statues.

Maintaining your statues or ornaments should be an easy, but regular task. Our recommendation is to inspect your statues every time you mow your lawn. This gets you into the habit of looking for any signs of damage or dirt.

How you maintain and clean your garden statue varies depending on the material used to make the statue. Most statues require basic cleaning with water & soap (like dishwashing liquid), but just in case, we’ve included a summary of how to clean each statue material below.

How to clean your garden statue

In a well maintained backyard, there are very few items as visually appealing as a garden statue. However years of being outdoors in the weather can leave a less than appealing look for your once beautiful garden.

You’d be surprised at what a simple clean can do, to freshen up your statue and the overall look of your backyard. So how do you clean a garden state? We’ll for most statues, all that is required is some simple items that every household has.

There are 3 main things to consider before cleaning your garden statue:

1. The material used to create the statue

Most statue materials can handle a wide range of cleaning methods, however there are some to avoid depending on your statue. Later, we discuss which substances to use and avoid depending on the material of your statue.

2. How delicate your statue is

Depending on how old your statue is, what material it is made out of, how detailed and thin / thick certain parts are, you will want to adjust what material you are using to clean your statue.

For delicate / detailed areas the perfect cleaning utensils to use is a new toothbrush. The small and soft bristles are perfect for getting into those nooks and crannies, while being soft enough not to cause any damage to the detailed work of the statue.

For other areas that are somewhat delicate a scrubbing brush that you’d use on your clothes / shoes will be perfect.

3. The temperature outside when cleaning

It’s best to clean outdoor statues when the sun is out and temperatures are high enough to dry out the statue relatively quickly.  

The first step is to give a basic wash of your statue with your tap and a hose on a gentle spray. The idea here is to loosen the buildup of grime, and to wash any excess dirt off, not to provide a deep clean.

Need some summer styling tips? Check out our guide on how to decorate your backyard for summer.

It’s important to be gentle with your hose spray pressure, as if the spray is too hard it can damage the detailing of the statue, or if your statue is painted it can rip off / fade the paint.

While wet, use a bucket, water, your recommended cleaning ingredient (see our recommendations below) and your cleaning utensils (toothbrush or scrub). This is where some hard work comes into play, with your toothbrush start gently scrubbing all of the detailed areas of your statue.

Once you’ve completed these areas, use your larger scrubbing brush on work from top to bottom scrubbing the remaining areas.

Wash your statue with your hose on a gentle spray or mist setting and check your work. You may find that this is enough, otherwise go over any specific area again with a fresh bucket of water and cleaning ingredients.

If the weather is warm, then let the statue air dry, otherwise it’s best to find a cloth, towel or chamois to dry your statue down. This will also help to remove any final layers of soap.

How Long Do Statues Take To Look Aged

One of the best ways to make a newly renovated garden look like it's well established is by including a old stone ornament or garden statue. We often get asked how long will it take for their new statue to look this way. The answer is, it varies. But there are some things you can do to help speed up this process.

1. Make sure your statue is placed in a location away from as much sunlight as possible.

2. Keep the environment around the statue moist

3. Place the statue or ornament on a natural surface, avoid concrete or pavers.

How To Clean Different Statue Materials

How to clean a marble statue

• Spray the statue with your hose with a delicate spray setting
• In a bucket add a small amount of dishwashing detergent to around 4 litres of warm water
• Use a cloth or sponge and carefully wash your statue
• Never use bleach.
• Dry your statue with a microfiber cloth or tea towel 

How to clean a bronze statue

• Spray the statue with your hose with a delicate spray setting
• With tap water, delicately scrub any detailed or overly dirty sections with a toothbrush
• In a bucket add a small amount of dishwashing detergent to around 4 litres of warm water
• Use a cloth or sponge and carefully wash your statue
• Soap and water
• Dry your statue with a microfiber cloth or tea towel 

How to clean a stone statue

• Stone statues are great as they require very little maintenance
• Simply spray your statue with the hose on a delicate setting
• Scrub any built up areas with a brush
• Dry your statue with a microfiber cloth or tea towel 

How to clean a concrete statue

• Spray the statue with your hose with a delicate spray setting
• In a bucket add a small amount of dishwashing detergent to around 4 litres of warm water
• Use a cloth or sponge and carefully wash your statue
• Dry your statue with a microfiber cloth or tea towel