Many of our outdoor douglas fir and swedish redwood picnic tables, garden benches and many other products are tanalised and lots of our customers ask us what is the tanalisation process and how does it work to protect the product? Tanalisation is the treatment of timber to make it more suitable for long term outdoor use with no further treatment. The tanalisation process commonly known as the pressure vacuum treatment ‘Tanalith E’ has been around since the 1940's and has revolutionised the outdoor furniture industry. The Tanalith treatment is made from Copper particles and Biocides which prevent against rot and insects whilst remaining unharmful to humans and animals. The treatment penetrates the wood right to the grain making the internal wood last for up to 60 years and the external layers up to 25 years with no further treatment. As with all treatments there can be some left over residue or excess product which in the case of tanalisation can appear a light greeny/blueish colour on the surface of the product - this will wear away with time and will soon weather to a light honey and eventually a silver grey. If you have any of this residue on your products the best thing to do is to wash it off (do not sand it off as it can take off the top layer of treatment!) or you can leave it to fade off naturally. This is not to say the product cannot be treated if you wish to maintain the colour - any garden shed or furniture paint can be used on the product to match any garden area. Once any residue has come away the product will be perfect for long term use and a great addition to your garden or patio space. So for a long lasting outdoor furniture option why not try some of our garden benches or picnic tables.