Having a patio umbrella is great! It keeps you nice and cool in the shade when it is a hot and sunny day outside.
Whether you are simply relaxing outside at your table or are having dinner with the family, a patio umbrella is a great addition to your collection of outdoor furniture.
But it can be super frustrating when your patio umbrella keeps spinning with every slight breeze.
Not only will you see your patio umbrella spinning, but it might wobble and be distractive overall.
We will go over how to keep your patio umbrella from spinning so you can enjoy your time outside stress-free.
Why Does Keeping your Patio Umbrella Still Matter?
It’s completely okay if you don’t understand why keeping your patio umbrella still matters. It seems like such a small and meaningless problem, but there are good reasons to keep it still.
If your patio umbrella is spinning with the slightest of breezes, it means that your patio isn’t properly fastened to your table or its base.
This might be because it doesn’t fit to where it’s attached or because it’s too loose.
However, a spinning umbrella can indicate that it could end up falling out or flying out if it becomes windier.
A spinning patio umbrella can also just be annoying. If your patio umbrella isn’t a symmetrical shape, its spinning will cause the shade to move.
Not only is your spinning umbrella rattling against the table, but now you are suddenly sitting in the bright sun when you were just in the shade a moment ago.
How to Keep your Patio Umbrella from Spinning
Luckily for all the patio umbrella owners out there, there are several ways to stop your patio umbrella from spinning and to keep it still.
Get a New and Heavier Base
Sometimes, a patio umbrella will start spinning because it doesn’t have the proper base. This can mean that the base isn’t the right size or that the base is too light.
When buying a new base, make sure that you get the right size. Too small and your patio umbrella won’t fit at all, but a too big of base will give your umbrella room to spin and you will have the same problem all over again.
A proper base will have a weight 10 times the width of the canopy.
For example, an umbrella that is 8ft in width should have a base that weighs 80 pounds. This will keep the umbrella from spinning around and make it sturdier in any wind that it faces.
Another tip is to get a base with a good thumbscrew. This screw will tighten the umbrella to the base which will make sure that it can’t go spinning at all.
Purchase Umbrella Cones
If the base of your umbrella fits right and still is spinning, or it just doesn’t have an attachable base, then you can get umbrella cones to keep it from spinning.
Umbrella cones add stability like a base because it adds width to the bottom but still becomes tight around the umbrella pole at the top.
Get the Base Underground
Sometimes drastic times call for drastic measures. If you have ever set up playground equipment in your backyard, such as a swing set, then you know that securing large objects in the ground helps keep them stable and from moving around.
If you continue to have problems with your spinning patio umbrella, you might want to consider securing it into the ground.
This obviously won’t work if your umbrella is on a deck, but if the ground under your umbrella is stone or even dirt, then you’ll be able to do this.
Drill into the ground and set your umbrella pole or the umbrella base into the ground. Some umbrellas even come with screws and other tools to help secure the base into the ground.
This method offers the most stability for your umbrella, there isn’t anything more stable than using the Earth as a base.
Use or Replace the Table Rings
If your patio umbrella is a part of a table set, then it should have come with rings to place in the hold that your umbrella goes through.
If the set doesn’t come with these rings, you can purchase them separately and they don’t typically cost much.
These rings keep the patio umbrella stable by reducing the amount of wiggle room that it has. It keeps everything tightly in place so there is no spinning room at all.
However, these rings generally aren’t made of amazing quality materials. When these rings are constantly in the sun, they will wear out, misshapen, or even crack into pieces.
If this happens, you will want to replace the ring otherwise your patio umbrella will have room to spin around once again.
Again, these rings usually don’t cost much, and you can buy them online or at a home improvement store. Just make sure you buy the right size.
Add Weight to the Base
This isn’t the most aesthetically pleasing solution but adding weight to the bottom of your umbrella will surely keep it from moving.
You can add weighted bags or sandbags to the base of your umbrella to keep it on the ground.
Sometimes, this solution is cheaper than buying a new base when you know that the base isn’t heavy enough for your umbrella.
Good quality bases can cost a lot of money, so a few bags of sand would end up being just a fraction of the cost. You are sacrificing looks for stability though.
Keep adding weight until your umbrella stops spinning. Again, multiply the width of the umbrella’s canopy by 10 to get the weight that the base should be.
An 8ft wide umbrella should have a base weight of 80 pounds.
Make Sure Nothing is Broken
Finally, make sure that no part of your umbrella is broken. A broken umbrella can have cracks along the base, pole, and table rings or even rips in the canopy.
When your umbrella is broken, the weight distribution won’t be the same and everything won’t work properly. This will cause spinning as the least of the problems.
If something is broken, fix it or replace it. Take good care of your umbrella to prevent things from breaking sooner.
4 Tips and Reminders for Keeping your Patio Umbrella from Spinning
When you don’t know what solution to follow or you are at a loss for what to do, check out some of these tips and reminders.
When in Doubt, Add More Weight
Much of the time, a patio umbrella that isn’t sturdy enough to stop spinning in small breezes just needs more weight at its base.
If you have no idea where to start with stopping your umbrella from spinning, start by adding weight to the umbrella and notice any differences.
Did the spinning stop or decrease? Then that’s a good indicator that the base is too light, and your umbrella needs more weight.
Keep Your Umbrella Closed When You Aren’t Using It
Just as a reminder, you shouldn’t have your umbrella open when you aren’t using it.
You can’t always know what the weather is going to look like and no patio umbrella can withstand all the wind in the world.
Keeping your umbrella closed when not in use protects it from the elements and from being damaged when you aren’t even using it.
A broken umbrella is much more likely to spin than a non-broken umbrella. So take good care of it to keep it in good condition.
Go For Higher Quality
It might be tempting to have the cheap patio umbrella that you found at Walmart. However, these cheap umbrellas aren’t able to withstand the same winds as a better-quality umbrella.
High-quality umbrellas are made out of sturdier and heavier materials that already add plenty of weight to the base. They are also made with thicker canopies and are just less likely to break overall.
Cheaper-quality umbrellas are lighter and are more likely to get dents or cracks. With this, they are more likely to start spinning with the slightest breeze.
Double Up on Solutions
It can be good to use several solutions at a time to ensure that your umbrella won’t start spinning again.
Add weights to the base while also making sure that your table patio umbrella has a ring to better secure it.
Using several methods adds more security to your patio umbrella. Add every solution that you can, especially if you can’t seem to figure out the best way to keep your umbrella from spinning.
Final Thoughts
A spinning patio umbrella can be annoying, but now you know different solutions to keep it still and centered. Tell us in the comments how these solutions have worked for you and your patio umbrella!
If you have more tips to share with other patio umbrella owners, share them in the comments as well.
