Molds and mildew appear both indoor and outdoor. Wouldn’t it be good for you to know how to clean outdoor rug with mildew, keeping that in mind?
Outdoor rugs are both collectives, styling pieces, and purposeful items that almost every homeowner takes pride in having. May you be new or experienced in caring for an estate, you’d agree that it takes a deal of attention to choose and maintain such items, especially the sentimental ones.
These outdoor rugs are made differently and therefore always specifically categorized from indoor ones. Meanwhile, they can also have subcategories, depending on the weather systems that your locality has.
As they’re already made for the outdoors, these rugs are most of the time tempered to survive even extreme weather such as snow and storms.
DIY Steps For Cleaning Mildew Off An Outdoor Rug
While these outdoor rugs are commonly made strong enough to weather harsh situations, time can make them vulnerable to what comes afterward. After some use, and even for new ones that are unfortunately not correctly coated, molds and mildew can appear.
In such case, here are the steps you can follow to remove them safely yourself:
Step #1. Vacuum the rug first
Assuming you’ve already grabbed yourself a mask and a pair of gloves for protection, you can start cleaning the mildew off from your outdoor rug by laying it outdoors on cemented pavement. You can choose to wear an overall and boots if you’re cleaning a large rug to adequately protect yourself from the mildew, which can have some health effects.
Regardless of whether the mildew infestation is dry or slightly moist, you should start by going over both sides of your rug with a vacuum that can filter the mildew and is suitable if it’s wet. This is important so the spores don’t spread on other parts or transfer on your pavement when you wash later on.
If you’re working on top of rock pavement, here’s how to remove mold from rocks
Step #2. Mix up a vinegar or bleach solution
Depending on what material your outdoor rug is made of, you can pick between bleach or vinegar for an easy-access mold-killing solution. What matters between whatever you choose is that you test it out first, whether it causes a change in color or fiber damage.
Most outdoor rugs are made with synthetic materials for durability, so either of the two mentioned should work. For bleach, make a 10% solution by mixing it with water, while for white vinegar, you should make it as concentrated as possible.
For both cases, test out the rug reaction by dropping some solution on the tip of the rug and observing for a few minutes.
Step #3. Apply your chosen solution and wash
After testing the solution, transfer some of it on a spray bottle then mist over the entire rug on both sides. Leave it to soak on the rug for at least 15 minutes to kill the mildew effectively.
After the said time has passed, rinse down the outdoor rug with running water, either with a hose or manual with buckets. Don’t let the run-off go to plants or grasses, though, as the bleach might cause problems on them later on.
After which, pick up a bucket and mix some detergent or rug soap with enough water to make a solution to cover the whole rug. Wash the rug with a scrub to remove all the dirt and residue from the rug.
Again, don’t let the soap run into your plants and lawn.
Step #4. Rinse the rug, then dry
When you deem that all the dirt and residual mildew has been removed from the rug, it’s time to get the rug rinsed. Again, you can rinse it with running water from a hose or splash it with buckets if you don’t have one.
Rinse your rug until all the soap is gone and the water running off from it becomes considerably clear. You can run it with a wet vacuum to remove most of the rinsing fluid off.
After rinsing, dry your outdoor rug as much as possible. You can hang it out in the sun until all the water has evaporated.
After all, it’s the excess water stuck in the rug that’s causing the mildew. Here’s an article you can check on how to prevent mold after a leak.
Should you power wash outdoor rugs?
You can use power washing for your rugs as long as you use the correct equipment. Power or pressure washing is quite useful not only for thick rugs or carpets, but it’s beneficial for outdoor ones.
This type of washing can help remove dirt easily, typical for outdoor pieces. Make sure you vacuum it first, so the spores don’t fly everywhere for mildew.
How to keep mildew from outdoor rugs
There’s only one trick to keep the mildew away from your rug, and that is to always keep it dry and clean. Mildew comes from spores landing in a wet or moist material with enough edible substances.
So long as you keep those two away, your rug should not have mildew as most of them are made preventive to such.
Conclusion
Now that you’ve fully learned how to clean outdoor rug with mildew, you need to take action to care for it. Keeping them clean and dry should be a regular thing so they’ll last longer.