Spring
Walk the whole set with a socket wrench and take up the slack that winter left. Wood shrinks and swells through the year and the first spring after a build is always the loosest. Look at every swing hanger, rake the surfacing back level, and wash the slide beds with soap and water.
Check the anchors by shoving the frame hard at the top. Anything that moves gets another turn.
Through the season
Hose the plastic down when it gets dusty — nothing stronger. Keep the fill raked into the hollows under the swings and at the slide exit. If a canopy has started to go chalky and brittle in full sun, order a replacement before it tears rather than after.
Watch the chains at the hanger. Split coating is the first visible wear on a set that gets used hard, and a split coat means the steel underneath is now exposed.
Autumn and winter
Take soft goods off: fabric nest beds, canvas, anything that holds water. Leave the frame standing — it is designed for weather. If you live where snow loads, clear the deck and the roof the way you would a shed.
Winter is the cheap time to order the parts you noticed in July. Seats, chains, handles and canopies are all on this site, sized to the sets they came from.
