Outdoor rugs are more prone to the dirt and dust particles. It’s because of the constant exposure to the outdoor environment. As a result, they’re constantly accumulating the stains, making you wash them regularly.
Even the rain plays a significant role in covering a rug with spots. This further causes mildew to settle on rugs, if left untreated. Besides, pets stains made by peeing and pooping also play a role in making an outdoor rug appear dirty.
Which is why many people choose easy to wash rugs like polypropylene. With a few splashes of water, all the smudges are gone.
However, not every rug is fairly washable by a few splashes. Some requires a little efforts and a few requires deep cleaning process.
Therefore, follow the steps below to clean an outdoor rugs efficiently:
Step 1: Watering and Scrubbing
Watering and scrubbing is the first part of an outdoor rug cleaning process. This process is used to weaken the common dust particles that a rug gather throughout the day.
And these dust particles further stick on the rug because of the overnight moisture in the environment.
As a result, they only way to remove them is the steady waterline and scrubbing the rug gently. Sometimes, it requires a careful force rubbing.
Tools Required:
Follow the Process:
- Apply the water pressure on the rug accordingly.
- Let the stains be weaken by soaking more water.
- Gently scrub the rug with a brush.
- Wash the rug again.
- Follow the Step 2.
Step 2: Apply a Rug Shampoo
A rug shampoo helps eliminating the root cause of the spots on a rug. Even if you apply pressure water and rub then rub the rug, the odds for stains are still present.
Because some smudges are stubborn and go only when you apply something external efforts. A suitable rug shampoo helps here.
A shampoo helps weakening those obstinate dirt marks which are later completely washed away with water. It’s also called an effective cleaning process.
Arrangement of Things:
Procedure:
Step 1: Apply water pressure on the rug.
Step 2: Gently scrub the rug and apply water again.
Step 3: Thoroughly apply shampoo on the rug.
Step 4: Softly scrub the rug again for a while.
Step 5: Wash the rug, making sure no stain is left.
Step 3: Mixing Baking Soda & Salt
This is the most effective method for spot cleaning process. If the rug has smudgy spots on particular areas, applying the mixed paste of baking soda and salt can removing them.
However, it must also be noted that overusing them can cause fading of the rug. Therefore, use it only in a limited quantity.
Prerequisites:
Applying Process:
Follow the steps below to apply baking soda + salt on rug stains:
⚠️ Don’t forget to use gloves to avoid skin irritation.
- Add two tablespoons of baking soda into 200ml lukewarm water.
- Mix a teaspoonful of salt into the lukewarm water.
- Stir the solution for a while.
- Directly apply it on the stains.
- Rub the stained area with this solution for a while.
- Let the solution be there for 5 minutes and then wash the rug thoroughly.
Step 4: Vinegar + Salt Solution
Even after applying above methods, stains can still be stubborn. However, with this step, stains will have to say goodbye to your rug.
It’s an effective method recommended by many experts. Even during the normal laundry days, vinegar and salt are used to remove stains effortlessly.
Vinegar and salt not only removes the stain, but also help maintaining the fabric shine. This further gives the rug a grown up appearance. This method is also helpful for removing pet stains from the outdoor rugs.
Necessary Objects:
Actions to Perform:
- Add a tablespoon of vinegar to 200ml lukewarm water.
- Add a teaspoonful of salt into water.
- Stir the solution for a while then directly apply it over the stains.
- Now, rub the smudgy surface gently and let the vinegar solution be there for the next 5 minutes.
- Ultimately, wash the rug thoroughly.
Additional Methods to Clean Outdoor Rug
Apart from the steps above, there are a few other methods that you can use to effectively clean your outdoor rug.
These methods are optional, but effective for the people who don’t want extra efforts to remove the stains from an outdoor rug.
1. Using Washing Machine
Washing machine is a common practice to do usual household laundry. But if the rug is washable in the machine, why not take advantage of it?
Having said that, you’ve to prepare the rug before cleaning in a machine. Let’s discuss those points that you must consider.
Washing Process:
Step 1: Add lukewarm water into the machine.
Step 2: Add a suitable detergent according to the size of the rug.
Step 3: Mix vinegar + salt into the detergent for an effective cleaning process.
Step 4: Let the machine do its work.
Step 5: Dry the rug in sunlight.
2. Spot Cleaning Process
A spot cleaning process is useful when the rug accumulates stains by accidental liquid spills or pet poo. Such situation requires immediate action on the impacted area.
In this method, only three combinations are helpful:
- Rug Shampoo
- Baking Powder + Salt
- Vinegar + Salt
You can either do spot cleaning or deep-clean a rug, that depends on what type of cleaning a rug needs. Spot cleaning saves a lot time when only a particular area of a rug is affected.
Now, remember that these combinations must not be changed. Never mix baking powder with vinegar and vice-versa.
Cleaning the Outdoor Rug with Pressure Washer
Outdoor rugs are prone to an uncountable amount of dust particles. After a prolonged exposure to such dust particles, they settle inside the rug’s fabric.
But with a pressure washer, it’s possible to convert this complex process into a straightforward task.
Let’s have a look at the cleaning rugs with a pressure washer process.
There are a few things need to be determined beforehand the cleaning process.
- A clean and dry area for the process
- Pressure nozzle – at 25º or 40º
- Rug detergent
- Foam scrub or soft bristle
Follow the cleaning steps below:
Step 1: Pre-rinsing the Rug
Initially, pre-rinsing the rug is important as it washes off the dirt and weakens the hardened dirt stick inside the rug threads.
You need to make sure that the pressure of the nozzle isn’t too low or it won’t be able to clean off the dirt. Setting the pressure too high can lead to the fabric damage.
During this process, the 80% of the dirt will wash away with the pressure. Afterward, you can scrub the rug gently to take off the remaining.
Step 2: Apply Rug Shampoo and Scrub
Make sure to apply a good quality rug shampoo. Then scrub the rug gently where the dirt is sticking. The scrub must be of soft foam. Scrubbing the rug with any hard brush or bristles can lead to fabric damage.
During this process, the dirt stuck on the fabric will be separated via the slippery nature of the shampoo and scrubbing.
If the foam scrub isn’t working, try the soft bristle scrub. However, make sure you don’t use unnecessary force.
Step 3: Pressure Washing
After scrubbing the rug using shampoo, pressure washing is the final step. This step ensures the deep cleaning of the rug. All of the dirt stuck on the rug will be eliminated completely, giving the rug a new and shiny appearance.
However, make sure that you use the pressure nozzle at 25º or 40º. Using the unnecessary pressure can lead to the long-term damage.
Step 4: Drying the Rug
Drying is one of the essential parts of deep cleaning a rug. If you neglect this part or be sloppy, the rug may loose its shiny appearance.
The sunlight is necessary to dry a rug. But most importantly, it’s better for you to know that a longer exposure to the sunlight also damages a rug’s fabric.
Therefore, keep the rug in sunlight only for a couple minutes. You can either lay it on a clean surface or hang it on a wire.
Later when putting the rug into its place, shake it for a while to get back its fabric’s original shape.
How to Prevent Outdoor Rug Damage in the Future?
Follow the given insights from the experts to save an outdoor rug from long-term damage:
Cleaning the Rug Regularly
Some people may feel lazy to clean outdoor rugs because they think it’ll stay outdoor, accumulate dust every day, and so on. But it’s a bad practice when you think of it from a different perspective.
Regularly cleaning an outdoor rug prevents the smudges from sticking. On the other hand, when you wash the outdoor rug once in a week or two, it becomes challenging to wipe those rigid stains.
While daily cleaning wipes the stains before they stick on the surface. As a result, you don’t have to perform a thorough cleaning process that consume time.
Use Fabric Protector
A fabric protector helps protecting your rug from intense conditions such as heavy rainfall, hurricane, or storms. Such extreme conditions have the tendency to completely shatter the outdoor rugs.
Moreover, using fabric protector helps to save your rug from the overnight damages like dews on rug piles. Dews mixes with the dust and stick on the rug. It often results in the muddy appearance on the rug.
In worse cases, the muddy spots on the outdoor rugs due to dew becomes hard to clean. Therefore, it’s advisable to use rug protectors.
Cleaning with Cautious
Cleaning the rug with cautious is also an integral part of preventing a rug from damages. Rugs often come with manufacturers guide for cleaning. It’s crucial to read that guide.
Any form of unethical cleaning practices can damage your rug. For example: using too much salt, baking soda, and vinegar in cleaning is also the violation of the proper cleaning guidelines.
Wrap Up
Cleaning an outdoor rug becomes easier when you know the correct steps. Thus, the steps above can help you clean your outdoor rug efficiently.
Additionally, you learn the tips to save your rug from such damages in the future. Cleaning is important, but saving a rug from vandalism also have its own benefits.
