If there is one description that shade sails cannot be labelled with it is fragile. In truth, if you were to ask most people who have shade sails they would describe them as robust, durable, and strong. However, despite shade sails being invariably reliable, they are not invincible. In other words, there are some factors that, if they were to exist, could compromise shade sails and their durability.
Some of these factors occur naturally, others are due to their owners making mistakes, and a lack of care and maintenance of the shade sails is also a major issue. The results can include shade sails looking grubby, them becoming damaged, and ultimately the need to replace shade sails arises long before they would normally have needed replacing, especially if certain preventive measures had been taken.
To know what some of these preventative and remedial actions are, you must first know what damaging factors they address, and so, to ensure that you do know them, based on the advice from the professionals at One Shade, we have outlined ten of the most commonly occurring ones below.
Damaging Factor #1 – Dust: There is no avoiding dust and, unfortunately, it can make shade sails look grubby and in extreme cases cause wear, so removing dust through regular cleaning is a must.
Damaging Factor #2 – Rainy Downpours: The risk here is that large pools of rainwater accumulate in the centre of a shade sail which can cause it to become misshapen or worse, cause the fabric to weaken.
Damaging Factor #3 – UV Damage: This happens not so much to the main fabric which often has UV resistant coating, but to the stitching. In time, stitching can be weakened by UV and thus repairs and restitching might be necessary after years of long hot summers.
Damaging Factor #4 – Mildew: The moisture created by rain or humidity is what helps mildew to thrive and once it forms it creates an unsightly white discolouring of shade sails as well as a health hazard for those with ailments such as asthma or allergies.
Damaging Factor #5 – Extreme Winds: An obvious risk to shade sails is the fierce winds produced when a storm hits your location with damage to fabric and fixings possible. Our advice is to remove shade sails if local weather forecasts are predicting storms in your area.
Damaging Factor #6 – Lack Of Maintenance: This applies to just about everything which is manufactured and certainly does to shade sails. Regular cleaning, checking the stitching, and carrying out some of the tasks we mention in this article can all help prolong the lifetime of your shade sails.
Damaging Factor #7 – Rusting On Fixings: Another problem created by rain is rust and this can most affect the fixings of your shade sails. Apart from being unsightly, another problem is rust can decay the metal of the fixings and weaken them if it is left unhindered.
Damaging Factor #8 – Wrong Tension Levels: If installed on a DIY basis, or after removing shade sails for cleaning, it is imperative that the tension of shade sails is correct. If too tight it can cause stretching, and if not sufficient can cause the shade sail to dip and lose its shape.
Damaging Factor #9 – Using Wrong Cleaning Methods: The fabric of shade sails needs cleaning regularly, but this must be done correctly. A big mistake is to use strong detergents which can cause colour loss and can also damage coatings on the shade sail such as UV protection.
Damaging Factor #10 – Ignoring Repairs: If you inspect your shade sails and see anything amiss you must take steps to have whatever the problem is resolved quickly. Delay, or even ignoring it, can lead to greater issues further on, including the need to replace the shade sail completely.