So you've built the bioclimatic pergola of your dreams and are enjoying this new living space. You're proud of how your new pergola looks and all its functions which are often admired by your guests! To be able to carry on enjoying your shelter for years to come, it's important to maintain it regularly. Cleaning the slats of your bioclimatic pergola will help to extend its lifespan.
Clean the slats of your bioclimatic pergola twice a year
Modern pergolas are made from aluminium. Aluminium structures are very easy to maintain and require less upkeep than a wooden pergola, for example. It is recommended you clean your aluminium bioclimatic pergola twice a year. Once in spring and again as autumn begins, when warm days start to become few and far between. Of course, when we talk about cleaning the slats, it goes without saying that the whole structure needs to be cleaned. This means cleaning the posts, the guttering and the different mechanisms.
Soap and water are all you need to clean the slats of a bioclimatic pergola
Cleaning a structure as big as a bioclimatic pergola might seem rather daunting at first. You may be tempted to use detergent products, which may be abrasive as well as toxic and which might actually damage the pergola and its slats. But the only things you need to clean your pergola properly are:
a sponge;
warm water;
soap (washing-up liquid is ideal);
a brush;
a soft cloth (microfibre for example).
When you have all these elements to hand, start by removing the dead leaves which have built up in the gutters. You can also dust the whole structure with a brush. Then, you need to use some elbow grease to clean your bioclimatic pergola's rotatable slats. The more often you clean it, the quicker it will be.
Start by lightly scrubbing each slat with a soft sponge soaked in soapy water. If there are any stubborn stains, white vinegar works wonders! Once this has been done, you just need to rinse the slats in clean water. You can use a garden hose to do this, but definitely not a pressure washer such as a Karcher! It would be a shame to damage the aluminium structure or the pergola's mechanical system. To prevent any streaks, wipe with a soft cloth after the rinsing.
