How to Clean Indoor/Outdoor Rug

Most indoor/outdoor rugs claim all you need to do is vacuum and hose it off occasionally but sometimes you need a deeper clean. After our husky discovered the joy of cool mulch, our beloved rug got very dirty very fast. No matter how much I vacuumed, the dirt spots were not coming up. That’s when I decided it was time to clean our indoor/outdoor rug with something stronger.

Step 1: Vacuum Indoor/Outdoor Rug

{Before}

After a thorough 20 minute vacuuming, out it went to the driveway for spot cleaning for the entire neighborhood to watch. Ha! (They already think I’m nuts.)

What I found under the rug. What the heck?! Mr Dyson…you are not as strong as I thought.

Step 2: Spot Clean

After cleaning the most dirty areas of my indoor/outdoor rug with this amazing fabric brush drill attachment, I realized my cleaner was too good. Danggit. As you can tell, there is definitely a brighter area where I cleaned vs the rest of the rug.

Step 3: Clean in large sections

I took out the big guns and went to town cleaning the entire rug by hand with the help of my new best cleaning friends. Working section by section, it really did not take much time at all. Maybe 30 minutes since this fabric cleaner/fabric brush combo cleans FAST!

You probably recognize this gang from my couch cleaning spree.

Step 4: Rinse

After a good rinse with the hose, look how pretty and clean!!! To help the indoor/outdoor rug dry as fast as possible, I used a large squeegee to push as much water down the driveway. The sun was setting fast so I had to race to get it drying before nightfall. I should have started this project in the morning but who knew I was going to have to clean the whole thing!