Ya gotta love those resin stacking chairs and tables that you can find stacked up 10′ high in every mass merchandiser and DIY store in town. You’re almost afraid to walk through that section of the store, for fear they’ll come tumbling down on top of you. But they’re very big sellers - generally because they’re durable and cheap. Fortunately, they now come in various colors and styles so there’s something out there to suit everyone’s style and/or pocket book. , chairs with and without arms, chaise lounges, tables, storage boxes, cabinets - the whole kit and caboodle. They’re great.

At least when you first buy them, all shiny and sparkly - you can’t wait to set your back end into one of them. But after a single season, they get all nicked and dingy looking, water pools in the shell of the seat and leaves a stain that you never can get rid of, and the grime, dirt and bug juice just seems to cling to the crevices and niches.

Once, you were able to simply hose it down to clean it, but now you’ve got to really scrub it to get it clean. If you don’t cover them regularly, then you need to clean them regularly and once in a while, you need to clean them really well. A simple squirt of dishwasher liquid and a hose won’t do it. Get out your cleaning clothes and a scrub brush, and give the furniture a good going over; you can use diluted bleach on stains. To keep your resin furniture looking great after that hard work, apply a coating of orange oil and a spritz of car detailing spray (you’re probably always in the DIY store anyway - you can get it there).

Yes, they’re durable and cheap, but that doesn’t mean they have to be cheap looking.