When planning your outdoor living space, take time to consider the effects of UV damage on the beautiful items you will be buying.  You can keep everything looking newer and fresher longer with sun protection from a ShadeFX canopy.

If you’ve ever wondered why outdoor fabric and furniture is so expensive, the answer is UV.  That is the short form catch-all phrase for ultraviolet light that damages plastics and pretty much everything, including your skin, over time. Protecting your deck and everything on it from UV will lengthen the life of those things substantially. It makes a great case for adding sun protection to your deck or patio.

Without the benefit of shade, you can expect the furniture and deck itself to deteriorate surprisingly quickly. Even quality materials properly treated for UV resistance deteriorate, but over a longer time.

Evidence of UV damage to fabrics is first seen as a colour shift, then as fading. It is common for untreated fabrics to go from red to pink to white in as little as six months. Ultimately, the fabric will lose its integrity and disintegrate. If you’ve invested in quality fabrics for your pillows and covers, this effect will take much longer, but it will still take effect.

Evidence of UV damage to plastic is first seen as whitening on the surface (chalking), or in the development of brittleness in the material which results in cracking. Quality synthetic wicker is quite expensive, and molded chairs and tables can have printed finishes on them. Reducing the amount of UV exposure for these things can keep them looking fresh and new two or three times longer.

Untreated wood shows its UV damage by turning grey. For natural cedar this can be accepted as part of the finished natural look that is desirable. However, for decks that are stained, a shade cover will greatly extend the life of the rich color that stain provides.

Clearly, a shade canopy protecting these items will itself be subject to the destructive UV rays. That’s why ShadeFX uses quality commercial awning fabrics with state-of-the-art additives to resist the effects of UV exposure. As a result, the five to ten year no-fade warranties are practically a miracle of science.

We suggest you put them to use!