Best waterproof patio furniture covers

Waterproof vs water-resistant

These are genuinely different products and the difference is about breathability, not quality.

When waterproof is right

• Prolonged heavy rain climates. If your winter is months of persistent rain rather than intermittent showers, a water-resistant cover eventually wets through at the top and the water gets in anyway.
• Under trees. Leaf litter holding water against a cover accelerates soak-through on resistant fabrics.
• Furniture with absorbent components. A wooden set with cushions you cannot remove benefits more from total exclusion.
• You will definitely cover dry furniture. The whole case for waterproof depends on this, because nothing is escaping once the cover is on.

When it is the wrong call

• Humid climates with mild winters. Here the enemy is trapped moisture and mildew, not rain ingress. A breathable water-resistant cover is clearly better.
• If you cover furniture opportunistically. Throwing a cover on before a storm means covering wet furniture, which is the one thing a sealed cover cannot tolerate.
• If the cover has no vents. A fully waterproof unvented cover is the worst combination available and should not be bought at any price.
• Freezing climates where you will handle it mid-winter. PVC coatings stiffen in the cold and can crack if folded or pulled while frozen.

Living with a PVC-coated cover

Heavy waterproof covers are more demanding to use well, and a few habits make the difference:

1. Dry the furniture thoroughly. Not "it looks dry" — give it a sunny afternoon after the last rain. This matters more with waterproof covers than with anything else.
2. Do not handle it frozen. If the cover is stiff with cold, leave it alone. Folding or dragging a frozen PVC coating cracks it, and a cracked coating leaks exactly where you cannot see.
3. Build in a slope. Heavy fabric holds a pool better than light fabric, which sounds good and is not — a pool of ice on a strong cover is a block of ice on your furniture.
4. Air it occasionally. On a dry day in midwinter, pull the cover back for an hour. Cheap insurance against whatever moisture found its way in.
5. Store it dry. A waterproof cover folded away damp mildews in the bag, and then you put mildew onto clean furniture in the spring.

For the general case — which cover, what venting, how to size it — our main cover roundup is the place to start, and the covers explainer covers whether your particular furniture needs covering at all.