How to Maintain Your Steel Shade Structure

Investing in shade structures for outdoor spaces like sports courts, parks, and playgrounds makes sense. These structures protect users from potentially dangerous UV rays that can cause skin cancer over time and add to the area's visual appeal.

Regular maintenance of all shade structures, including shade sails and metal structures, protects your investment. We will take a closer look at why this is the case and how to maintain a steel shade structure.

Why you should maintain a steel shade structure

There are several benefits of properly maintaining your shade structure. These benefits are,

• Ensuring the longevity of the structure and thereby protecting your investment.
• Providing optimum protection for people using the outdoor space covered by the structure.
• Saving money by noticing issues quickly and rectifying them immediately.
• Boosting customer satisfaction by allowing people to use the covered space at all times, no matter what the current weather condition is.
• Maintaining the overall appearance of your facilities.

Maintaining your steel shade structure

You can see why you should maintain your shade sail or steel shade structure. We will give you some maintenance tips that concentrate on checking and cleaning steel shade structures and briefly mention shade fabric maintenance.

Installing in the correct way

If you do not have your shade structure installed correctly, you will have problems from the start. As experts in steel shade structure design and installation, we ensure that the entire process is completed professionally with exceptional results. Our structures remain sturdy and operate effectively after many years of use as long as they are properly maintained, which we will now look at in more detail.

Conducting regular maintenance checks

Regular inspections are an essential aspect of shade maintenance. You should regularly check for wear and tear in fabric and steel shades, including weather damage. Sadly, some shades can also be damaged by vandalism. However the damage is caused, the sooner you notice the problem, the better. Early awareness stops damage from getting worse and saves you money.

In addition to regular checks, it’s a good idea to inspect shade structures closely after extreme weather events. These events are becoming more frequent and can cause significant damage, which should be rectified immediately. 

Cleaning the overall structure

Regular cleaning of shade structures prevents grime and dirt from damaging them over time and maintains their appearance. We use COLORBOND® steel for our structures, which, like other steel products, can be regularly washed with water.

Rainwater often washes off much of the debris from a steel shade structure. However, you should hose down parts of the structure that are not regularly exposed to rainwater at least every six months. In areas close to the coast or in industrial areas, where sea spray salt or industrial fallout are issues, hosing should be done more regularly.

If debris remains after washing, you can use pure soap or non-abrasive detergent. Do not use abrasive tools for cleaning. Instead, use a sponge, soft cloth, or soft-bristled brush. After cleaning, you should rinse the surface thoroughly.

While this article concentrates on the maintenance of steel shade structures, we would also like to mention the importance of cleaning fabric shade sails. This can be done by,

• Detaching the sail.
• Applying a mild detergent with a sponge or soft-bristled brush.
• Allowing the solution to stand for 10 minutes.
• Thoroughly rinsing the fabric.

Finally, do not forget to apply bug spray to get rid of spider webs during the cleaning of any shade. No one is going to want to hang out under a structure that is an arachnid haven.

Clearing and cleaning gutters

Ensuring gutters are clear is a specific part of a steel shade cleaning process that should not be overlooked. You need specific tools to do this: a plastic gutter scoop and a soft-bristled brush. Never use metal tools, as they can scratch and cause damage. The gutter cleaning process is,

• Use a plastic scoop and soft-bristled brush to clear all debris from the gutters.
• Pressure wash or hose down the gutters once the debris is removed.
• Check the gutters for any damage that requires action.

Following the tips in this article helps you maintain a shade structure. If you are looking to create a high-quality structure that gives you a head start on making maintenance easy, we are happy to help. Simply contact us to start the steel shade design process.