An outdoor rug is the glue that holds your patio set together. It can provide a smooth transition from one area of your backyard to another. It keeps little feet from burning up on the hot days, and it is much more lovely looking than concrete. It does all of this day in and day out without so much as a peep and how do you repay it? By walking all over it and maybe cleaning it every leap day?
How To Care
Your outdoor rug doesn’t want extravagant gifts or boxes of fine chocolates, all it really wants is just some good old caring attention via your vacuum cleaner. All of Today’s Patio Treasure Garden rugs are made of UV stabilized polypropylene, which means they are extremely durable and are resistant to fading. So you don’t have to worry about damaging them with the vacuum’s beater bar (the thing that spins around dislodging dirt, and yes beater bar is the technical term). If your rug happens to have fringe you need to avoid vacuuming it unless you use a hard-floor attachment. The fringe will quickly wrap around the bar and there’s a good chance you will tear it from the rug and or break your vacuum. Once you have vacuumed the top of the rug flip it over and get the underside. The dirt that has been grounded into the rug from countless traffic is easier to get from the underside. While outdoor rugs love to be vacuumed they hate being beat with objects. Hanging a rug from a clothesline and hitting it with the broom can be a fun stress relieving exercise but it really isn’t that effective or efficient. It can also dramatically shorten the life of the rug by loosening the threads and damaging the structural integrity. Remember your rug is not a solid piece of material it is made of many fibers woven together. If for any reason a thread gets loose don’t let curiosity get the best of you and start pulling. Get some scissors and cut it as close to the surface as you can.
Cleaning Spills
Let’s face it, no matter how careful you are spills are going to happen. Strong gusts of wind knock over glasses, children can be inspired artists and pets sometimes confuse rugs for restrooms. With regards to stains, the single most important thing to remember is to blot not scrub. Scrubbing a stain will push the stain further down into the fibers making it harder to fully remove. As mentioned, all of Today’s Patio’s rugs are made with polypropylene and are stain resistant so you can simply spray them with a hose to clean. When storing rugs you want to take some precautionary measures to protect them from Moths and rot or mildew. Moths love to lay their larvae in dark areas that go undisturbed. Moth balls and insecticide can be found at most local hardware stores and will go a long way in deterring this from happening. You will want to wrap the rug in a breathable fabric as the lack of air can lead to rot and mildew. Also, try to store it somewhere that is not damp or humid to avoid mold from growing. By following these simple steps you can extend the life of your rugs considerably. Is there anything we forgot to cover? Some helpful tips you have found useful over the years? Please share with us by leaving a comment below.