With the cold season slowly making way for spring, many homeowners across Australia will be turning their thoughts to spring-cleaning. While the chore will need to be done, one can reduce the burden with the use of low maintenance materials.

DecoWood by Decorative Imaging, for instance, is a textured woodgrain finish for aluminium windows, doors, decks, fences, screens, cladding, shutters, louvres, gates, facades and more. Powder coated aluminium such as DecoWood is also low maintenance unlike timber.

However, to keep the powder coating looking as good as new, here are a few dos and don’ts.

A DecoWood aluminium surface never needs painting or staining. Being powder coated, using paints and stains on DecoWood would actually be bad for it.

The maintenance required for DecoWood is the same as that of any aluminium powder coating: According to Australian Standard AS3715, powder coated surfaces should be washed with soapy water every three to six months, depending on the location.

DecoWood aluminium surfaces exposed to corrosive environments will need to be washed more frequently. Common corrosives include UV exposure, salt spray in marine locations, pollution and humidity. You can even use a brush to remove any grit that may be stuck in the texture of the powder coating.

However, if these factors are not an issue, the DecoWood finish will require washing only every six months.