Bringing in the outdoor rug? How to clean it, dry it all the way and store it for winter, and when it's worth sending out

Around the first week of November, the outdoor rug on the patio, deck or front porch has usually had a full season of pollen, grill drips, sunscreen, bird droppings and wet leaves. If it goes into the garage the way it came off the deck, it tends to come back out in May smelling of mildew, with brown leaf marks set in and sometimes a mouse nest in the middle of the roll. An hour of work now, on a dry day, avoids most of that. Here's how to clean an outdoor rug at home, how to dry and store it, and when it's worth sending out instead.

First, make sure it really is an outdoor rug

Most rugs sold for patios are polypropylene, sometimes polyester or a blend, usually as a flatweave with no separate backing. Those handle a hose and soap well, because the color goes all the way through the fiber. Check the label before you start, though. A few rugs that end up outdoors aren't made for it:

• Jute, sisal and seagrass look like natural “porch” rugs but soak up water, brown and rot. Don't hose them; vacuum, dry spot-clean, and keep them under cover.
• Indoor rugs with a latex or glued backing that got moved out to a screened porch. Soaking can loosen the backing, and it can peel or powder.
• Cotton flatweaves and dhurries can be washed, but the dyes may run and they take a long time to dry.

If there's no label, our guide to telling what a synthetic rug is made of walks through reading the tag, the feel and the back.

Cleaning it at home, step by step

Pick a dry day above about 50°F with no rain in the forecast for a day or two, so the rug can dry outside. You'll need a broom or vacuum, a hose, a bucket, mild dish soap and a soft or medium brush.

1. Get the dry dirt out first. Shake it out or drape it over a railing and beat it, then sweep or vacuum both sides. Grit and sand left in will turn to mud as soon as it's wet.
2. Lay it flat on a clean surface, such as a driveway or a clean deck. Not on the lawn, where it picks up more dirt, or on fresh concrete sealer.
3. Hose it down on both sides.
4. Scrub with a weak soap solution: a squirt of dish soap in a bucket of warm water. Brush along the weave rather than in circles, a section at a time.
5. Rinse until the water runs clear. Leftover soap is sticky and pulls dirt back in. This step takes longer than people expect.
6. Squeegee or push out the water with the flat side of a broom, then hang it or prop it on its edge so both sides get air.

On a pressure washer: it's tempting, and plenty of people use one, but at close range a narrow tip can fray the edge binding, push fibers out of a flatweave and blow out loose stitching. If you use one, put it on the widest fan tip, keep the wand a couple of feet back and work at an angle, never straight down on the binding.

The stains outdoor rugs actually get

Dry it completely before it goes anywhere

This is the step that decides whether the rug smells in spring. Polypropylene doesn't hold much water itself, but a thick or tightly woven rug holds plenty between the fibers, and anything trapped in the middle of a roll stays wet for weeks in a cold garage.

• Hang it over a railing, fence or two sawhorses so air reaches both sides. Flip it after a few hours.
• In November, give it a full day in the sun and wind, and bring it into the garage overnight if it's going to drop below freezing or get dewy.
• Check the middle and the binding by pressing a dry paper towel into it. If it comes up damp, it isn't ready.

Storing it for the winter

• Roll it, don't fold it. Folds turn into creases and can crack the binding in the cold. Rolling around a cardboard tube or a length of PVC pipe keeps it straighter.
• Wrap it in something breathable, like an old sheet or a canvas drop cloth, tied with string. Plastic is only safe if the rug is bone-dry; otherwise it traps moisture.
• Keep it off the floor. A concrete garage or basement floor wicks moisture into a roll. Lay it on a shelf or across hooks. If your basement already smells, our post on why rugs smell musty covers why a slab floor is the usual culprit.
• Keep mice out. In garages and sheds around Long Island, Westchester and Jersey, a rolled rug is a warm place to nest. A sealed bin or a high shelf helps; check the roll once mid-winter.

Pads under outdoor rugs are usually thin and cheap. If yours is flattened, crumbling or smells, replace it in spring instead of storing it.

When it's worth sending out instead

To be straight about the math: a lot of outdoor rugs cost less to replace than to wash. Standard washing is priced from the rug's measurements, width times length in feet without fringe, and pickup and return are free when the cleaning subtotal is $250 or more ($50 total below that).

So if a patio rug cost less than the total above, cleaning it yourself or replacing it is usually the sensible call. Sending it out makes more sense when:

• It's a good-quality or large rug you'd pay real money to replace, or it's a heavier indoor-outdoor rug that lives in a sunroom, mudroom or screened porch.
• You don't have the space to lay out and dry an 8 × 10, which is the usual situation in a Queens or Brooklyn apartment with a small terrace.
• Smell or grime came back after you washed it yourself, often from pet accidents on a porch.

And when it isn't worth it: polypropylene that has been in direct sun for years can go brittle and chalky. If the fibers snap or leave colored dust on your hand when you rub them, washing won't bring the rug back, and it will likely keep breaking down.

If you book, have the rug dry, shaken out and rolled by the door, and note any grease, rust or pet stains in the order notes. Pickup is usually within 48 hours of booking or on a later date you pick, and rugs normally come back 7–10 business days after pickup. Our page on synthetic rug cleaning covers what to check on the backing first, and the pickup prep guide covers rolling and tying. You can enter measurements in the rug cleaning price calculator to see the total before you book.