How can I safely clean my outdoor rug?

What’s the safest product to use on my outdoor rug to clean it? With all of this rain and humidity, it’s a bit green in spots! I have dogs so it has to be a product or solution that won’t harm them (or the grass!).

  8 answers
  • Hi there! Perhaps this article will help. It suggests a simple soap and water wash with a nylon brush and a vinegar/ water mixture for mold as an alternative to bleach. Hope that helps! https://www.overstock.com/guides/how-to-keep-outdoor-area-rugs-looking-new

  • Mogie Mogie on Sep 11, 2018

    How to Clean Mold on an Outdoor Rug

    Go straight to your kitchen cupboard for the white vinegar, and pour it full-strength onto the moldy rug. Let it sit for about an hour. Then, add about a cup of vinegar to a bucket of warm water, and use a scrub brush to brush it clean. Rinse with the garden hose and let dry thoroughly.How to Store an Outdoor Rug

    Depending on your weather, your outdoor rugs may see a wide range of outdoor time. Make an effort to store your rugs when they are not in use, to keep them from having to endure more weather than they need to. Roll it up and cover with a tarp. Use stretch cords or rope to secure it and find a spare corner of the garage to hold it until next season.How to Dry an Outdoor Rug

    After you’ve washed your outdoor rug, or if it has just braved the latest tropical storm system, be sure to dry it thoroughly in the sun. Hang it over a deck railing where it will catch its share of rays, and flip it often to make sure that it dries from both sides. Don’t let it dry in the shade or sitting in the water that you washed it in—it will do it more harm than good.

  • Dawn dish soap, vinegar for the mold, a stiff bristle long handled broom or scrub brush and a hose or pressure washer.


    I do mine all the time, dusty here.


    Wet the rug well. Squirt the Dawn soap. Brush brush brush. Toss down a couple cups of white vinegar. Brush some more. Now hose down. If you can, turn over and hose off again. If you have help, pick up and toss over the fence or a couple patio chairs to dry in the sun. Hose off patio. You are done! Easy, quick, environmentally friendly, child and pet safe. Who could ask for more?


    I toss mine over the fence to dry.

  • Ginny Ginny on Sep 12, 2018

    Hang the rug over a fence or deck railing.

    Wet down rug with your garden hose and thoroughly spray with diluted Dawn liquid in a spray bottle.

    Rinse and allow to dry on a sunny day. You can probably treat especially dirty spots with Shout or some other pre-wash treatment.


  • Linda Linda on Sep 12, 2018

    Most outdoor rugs can be bleached. I would test a small area that is hidden with furniture first. If it doesn’t bleach then i would lay it in the sun and bleach it.

  • Connie O. Connie O. on Sep 12, 2018

    Spray and Forget has an outdoor furniture cleaner that I would use on the rug.

  • Cheryl Harris Cameron Cheryl Harris Cameron on Sep 12, 2018

    All I do is pressure wash it. I've had the same rug for years. I live in the Pacific NW and our rainy weather where mold grows rampant! So each year I haul out my little pressure washer on the first nice day and after a good going over it's perfect again. No scrubbing needed. Then just let it dry. This is how I clean all my outdoor furniture and pillows.

  • Jan Marie Jan Marie on Sep 27, 2018

    I use a power washer on my outdoor rugs. I use the fan spray and not the pin point spray. After getting the rug thoroughly wet I use a diluted solution of dish soap and water. My rugs look like new when I am done. I have a rug rolled up right now waiting for me to get out the power washer.