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Blooming flowers and budding leaves mean a few things: longer days are coming, warm weather is on its way, and Mother Nature is about to get a lot more beautiful. Unfortunately, that also means pollen is about to sweep through your yard, coating your outdoor furniture with a layer of yellow dust. And if you don’t act fast, that pollen will pile up—making it tough to sit down without getting pollen all over you.

“Pollen is a major irritant for many people,” Matthew Baratta, VP of Operations atDaimer Industries, says. “If pollen is allowed to build up, it can cause other problems, in addition to being unsightly and uncomfortable.”

Pollen doesn’t just turn your furniture yellow and make it tough to sit down—it can also cause problems for people with pollen allergies. And since it attracts insects, it can turn your outdoor space into a haven for bugs.

That may sound like a nightmare. But there’s an easy way to avoid it: Regularly clean your outdoor furniture. According to cleaning experts, keeping pollen build-up at bay is as easy as spot-cleaning your furniture daily, washing it regularly, and deep-cleaning it every now and then. 

To help you determine what to do—and when to do it—we asked those same cleaning experts how to clean pollen off outdoor furniture to get the best results. 

How Often to Clean Pollen Off Your Outdoor Furniture

Pollen isn’t a problem all year long. It comes and goes, depending on the season. And if your yard is filled with lush greenery, you’ll probably experience more pollen than someone with fewer plants. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to how often you should clean pollen off your outdoor furniture, but experts have a few rules of thumb.

During the spring, clean your outdoor furniture every week, and during the summer, clean it every other week. “This will take care of the major pollen deposits on your outdoor furniture,” Baratta says. “It will prevent future pollen from settling as quickly, because your furniture will be clean and more resistant to grime.”

During the fall and winter, pollen shouldn’t be a problem, so deep-clean your outdoor furniture once at the beginning of spring and summer—and once at the end of it, too.

“Cleaning your outdoor furniture at the beginning of the season allows you to prep the furniture and clear off any dust that accumulated during the winter season,” Derek Chiu, co-founder and director of UrbanMop, says. “You should also clean the furniture at the end of the season to clear off all the dust and dirt and prevent more from accumulating.”