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How to Clean An Outdoor Rug

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Your outdoor rug will provide you with a beautiful surface that people can enjoy walking on while at your home.

Such a rug will come with a comfortable body and a vibrant appearance that can resist moisture, the sun’s rays, and many other concerns you might come across while outdoors.

How to Clean An Outdoor Rug

But like with any other rug, you will have to watch for how well that surface is cleaned off.

You need to ensure your outdoor rug is washed off properly. This is especially the case when your rug has been subjected to intense rains.

Sometimes your rug might even develop bits of mold or other growths from being outdoors for a while. But no matter what the case may be, you can get your outdoor rug cleaned off well.

It is not too hard to clean off an outdoor rug if you know what to do with it.

This guide will help you to review how to clean an outdoor rug. You can particularly learn here about some of the specific types of stains that you might treat.

This process is just to clean the rug if your rug has a paint then it has a different cleaning process.

How to Clean Outdoor Rug-Complete Process

Start With a Vacuum

clean outdoor rugThe first thing to do is to use a vacuum over your outdoor rug. A vacuum can help you with clearing out the stains and dirt materials that are on the top part.

Be gentle with the vacuum when getting it ready. A handheld vacuum is best as the material will be easier for you to control and move over the rug.

Adding a Cleaner

clean outdoor rug pressure washer

You must add a proper cleaning material onto your rug. Mix a gentle amount of water and detergent. Avoid using anything that might hurt the rug’s coloring. You must especially avoid bleach as that compound can quickly strip the colors off of your rug.

The cleaner may be added with a gentle brush. The detergent should move well into the rug, but you should be cautious when getting it secured right.

Rinsing Out the Cleaner

You should rinse out your detergent after you have scrubbed the rug well enough. Use a hose to add more water onto the rug. This should help with clearing out the detergent. You can use your brush during the rinsing process to encourage some remaining bits of detergent to come out of the rug. The detergent and any dirt or other items it has gathered should be removed at this point.Tips for outdoor rug cleaning

The flow of water coming out of the hose should be gentle. You can use a sprayer to add water provided that you use a relaxed setting. Avoid using the high-pressure setting as that might weaken the body of the rug.

Also, while you can use a hose with a continuous stream of water without a sprayer on top, you must be cautious when handling the rug this way. Adding too much water onto the rug could make it harder for you to get the surface to dry out all the way.

Handling Intense Stains

Some stains on your outdoor rug may be very intense. These include red wine stains or even blood stains.

For these stains, you need to use a blot cleaning process before anything. This would entail you adding some water over the strain and then adding club soda onto the stain. Club soda helps to weaken the stain and keep it from settling. This improves upon how well you can clear out the stain.how to clean a wool rug

Be sure to handle this process as soon as possible when taking care of your outdoor rug. Any stains that are not cleared out on time may end up settling into your rug, thus keeping them from being easy to clear out.

What About Mold?

Mold can develop on some outdoor rugs. This compound is often difficult to clean off, due to this being an intense allergen that can quickly spread. You must use a special process for getting mold cleaned off of your rug.

Add white vinegar onto your rug to clear off the mold. Straight vinegar is powerful enough to neutralize the mold.

Allow the vinegar to sit on your rug for about an hour. After that, add another cup of vinegar to water and then use that with a scrubbing brush to clean off the rug. Target the entire rug so the surface will be treated accordingly.

Rinse the rug off with a garden hose. Allow the rug to dry off as usual.

Handling Large-Scale Stains That Spread

There are often times when you might find some larger stains that spread around a spot. Maybe a pet in your house had an accident or might have thrown up on the rug.

Be cautious when handing such solid stains. Clear the physical items sticking on the rug from the outside on in. This process keeps the stain from possibly spreading around the rug.how to clean a wool rug

You can then use a standard spot cleaning process for controlling the stain at this point. Vinegar should be good enough when you consider the intensity and sensitivity of the stain.

Drying Off the Rug

You can dry off your rug after you have washed off the stain. You can hang the rug over a railing to allow the water to naturally move off of the rug.

You can also leave the rug lying flat on the ground if needed. Be sure to flip the rug over regularly so the rug will dry out evenly.

The best point here is to let the rug dry out in the sun. Direct exposure to sunlight during the drying process keeps the rug from being at risk of experiencing mold growths.

What About Storing the Rug?

You can store your outdoor rug after you are done cleaning it, but you must ensure the rug is dry beforehand. Roll your rug up and store it inside a plastic tarp. Use a few fasteners or cords to secure the tarp around the body of the rug. The added fasteners should help you with keeping the entire body of the rug together while in storage.How to Clean An Outdoor Rug

The storage process works best in cases where the weather conditions in your area might not be conducive to your rug during a particular season. Be sure the rug is folded up well after you have washed off and dried your rug.

Keep the rug stored in a gentle place if possible. The area does not have to be overly dry as excess dryness may cause the rug to wear out depending on its material. Allow for enough humidity in the spot that you plan on securing your rug in when you do not plan on using it.

How Often Should You Do This?

Aim to clean off your outdoor rug once a month for the best results. Cleaning it off this often ensures the rug will continue to look its best. More importantly, you will not be at risk of having certain stains settle into your rug; such stains might be extremely hard for you to clear out.

Don’t forget to vacuum and sweep your outdoor rug on occasion. A weekly vacuuming or sweeping will keep items from growing on top of your rug and possibly causing the rug to wear out prematurely.

Avoid Excess Physical Pressure

The next point to consider for cleaning an outdoor rug is to ensure you avoid adding far too much physical pressure onto the rug. You must be gentle on the rug so you don’t put its fibers at risk of harm.

Remember to use a gentle brush when scrubbing off the surface. Also, add the water and cleaning materials gently without using any high-pressure materials.

Caring For the Corners

Finally, you have to watch for how well the corners on your rug are being treated. The edges on your rug could start to curl up depending on how often people walk on the rug.

Add a series of damp towels onto the corners of the rug while you wash off the surface. Keep those towels on the rug overnight if possible. Adding enough pressure onto the corners ensures that the rug will continue to look its best.

You might have to repeat this process a few times depending on the type of rug you are working with. This may be more important for cases where your rug is a little older.

Conclusion

Your outdoor rug can last for years and can continue to entertain people throughout each season. But it can be easy for that rug to wear out and look older than it really is.

You don’t have to struggle with concerns relating to how well your rug looks though. Getting a proper process ready for cleaning off your rug is critical for ensuring that the rug you have is fixed up right and is comfortable for many uses.

Be aware of how well your outdoor rug looks and that you are getting it cleaned off regularly. Making sure you are caring for your outdoor rug is critical to ensuring the surface will continue to look its best.

I hope now you know how to clean an outdoor rug. Does our cleaning process match with yours? Let us know in the comment sections.

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Chris

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