How to get an outdoor rug to dry quickly after it rains?

You could try to vacumn it with a shop vac or a carpet cleaner that will suck up all the excess water from it. You don't mention what your rug is made from and what kind of pile it has but it may be that it is just not suited to where you have it. You may have to invest in a different kind of rug that doesn't absorb as much water.

I would remove the rug pad, that is only holding water beneath your rug. Use a wet/dry shop vac to suck up the water or set out a fan to dry it more quickly.

I think the pad is your issue. If you are concerned about it slipping, only put strips or small sections to hold in place so the air can circulate through the rug.

A shopvac or other wet vacuum can speed the process but what a pain!

Sounds like it’s made of a very thirsty material. Is it meant for outdoors? If you can’t get it into the sun, you’re going to run the risk of it molding. You might consider a different, faster drying one.

I actually put an outdoor rug pad under it because it was soaked without it. Either way it gets soaked. The rug is a rug specified for outdoor Deck/patio use. It is polypropylene. It is the third one I have had and all of them remain wet for a day or two after it rains. I live in the NE so we don’t have a lot of humidity.

Hi Diane, it seems to me that you may be using an indoor carpet as outdoor carpets are tightly woven to repel water and therefore dry very quickly, you can hang it in the sunlight to speed up the progress, but ultimately you need to purchase and outdoor carpet that won't get saturated from the the rain, sorry I can't offer more to you

Is the rug 100% polypropylene or is it also part nylon? If so, this could be part of the reason why it is retaining water.

Another factor could be how damp/dry and how much air circulation the area under the deck gets. If this area is always damp, cool, or in the shade, the moisture/humidity from under the decking could be preventing the carpet on the deck from drying out quickly.

Hi Diane,

Hang it over a line and let it drip till dry! Maybe it is an inside rug and not an outside one!!

Maybe it's the rug pad holding so much water? I don't know that outdoor rug pads are helpful.

Put it over the railing when it rains to dry it will dry faster then lay it down when dry you could scotch gard it to it won’t get so wet to that way

Hang it over a railing,to st the under side can dry. Needs sit to circulate through it I under pad may feel cushioned. But remember it takes time to dry also. So U have two layers to dry. have to dry seperately

Hang it over a railing or fence, give a blow dry with your leaf blower to get the excess water out.

Hang it over the fence or a railing

Thank you for your responses all! It is an 11’ X 14’ rug with heavy furniture on it. Hanging it over a fence or railing isn’t an option. If it were a small rug, that would work great. But to do so at my age every time it rains isn’t going to happen.😂

I would prop it up over chairs and table to allow drainage and air flow above and over rug. I do that when I wash mine.

Hi Diane,

I have the exact same issue! My rugs are under heavy furniture and I cannot pick it up every time it rains!!

Can I ask you what kind of deck is the rug on? We just upgraded our deck from wood to TREX and now the rug takes days and days to dry, whereas on the wood deck it only took 1 day. I had considered buying a pad, but from your post, I guess that is not helpful?

If you come up with a solution, please let me know!

thanks!!

I have the same issue Diane. Heavy furniture and I think the pressure treated wood may bt the issue. I have found that if you can raise any part of the rug and place something to space it a few inches, at least that part will almost dry in 24 hours. Glad to know a pad doesn't work, I was just looking for one as you did a year ago. THanks!

I realize this is an old question, but i didnt see any answers here here that solved the problen, or really even people who understood the situation entirely. I live south of Tampa near the beach…I GET IT. South florida weather is NO JOKE on AALL outdoor materials, no matter how high quality they are or how durable they claim to be. I have tried multiple outdoor rugs, for my uncovered wooden pool deck-including the cheapy plastic woven-ones out of desperation. Those ones dry great but rip and disintegrate in the florida weather and all the pool traffic (and our Labrador 🤪). I am in the same boat looking for new rugs this year as they all take forever to dry and ultimately end up mildewing. Also not GREAT for the wood underneath. The only solution i can come up with right now is buying some those anti-fatigue drainage mats to put underneath. Thing is they are typically fairly thick so im not sure how they will look/work. They also are not cheap! Let me know if you found any other solutions!

Use a wet/dry vac and then put a fan on it and sit it in the sun. Usually the material like nylon, polypropylene, and polyester dries out quickly. Outdoor rug material like wool or cotton takes time to dry.