Welcome to this guide on how to clean bathroom rugs with rubber backing.
Apart from giving you tips on how to WASH such rugs; I shall also show you how to DRY bathroom rugs with rubber backing.
How often should you clean bathroom rugs, can bathroom rugs be machine washed, and what are the best easy to clean bathroom rugs? These are some examples of questions I shall answer in this post.
Previously I wrote a post on the best non-slip bathroom rugs for the elderly, which you can also read to improve the safety of your loved one in the bathroom.
HOW TO CLEAN BATHROOM RUGS
What Are The Best Easy To Clean Bathroom Rugs?
What are the best easy to clean bathroom rugs?
Below are our top three options from Amazon, which we recommend.
You will notice that the choices below are very affordable- you can get them for less than $30.
Additionally, all of them have more than 10,000 customer reviews on Amazon, which means they have been tried by many people who have loved them.
1. Non-Slip Chenille Bathroom Rug
It will keep your feet warm and comfortable because it is extra thick, soft, plush, cozy, and bushy than an ordinary bathroom rug. This feature also makes this rug highly absorbent.
The high moisture absorption feature makes this rug ideal for bathrooms with hardwood flooring. It also keeps away rug moths and pungent smells caused by moisture accumulation on rugs.
The non-slip property of this rug will help to keep it in place. That way, you shall keep away slip and fall accidents likely to affect the elderly, babies, and pets. Read more tips on this guide on how to keep rugs in place.
This rug comes in vibrant colors and a bold décor of patterns and stripes, a feature that will add beauty to your home.
The rug can be easily cleaned with different methods like shaking it outside to remove dust, washing it by hand with a mild detergent, or putting it in the machine for cleaning.
It has more than 27,000 reviews on Amazon, which shows that this is a trendy rug loved by many households.
2. Gorilla Grip Chenille Bathroom Rug
The pile density of this rug is thick enough to make it soft, cozy, and comfortable. This helps to keep your feet warm on a cold floor, especially in wood or laminate flooring.
You do not have to worry about mildew because this rug is highly absorbent, which means it will dry faster. I recommended you read this guide on how to clean rugs and get smells out for more tips.
This rug is versatile because it can be used in many other spaces apart from the bathroom, like the kitchen sink area and outdoor spaces like the pool area and the deck.
The rug is super easy to clean because it’s machine washable. Alternatively, you can easily wash it by hand with cold water and a mild detergent.
It has more than 33,000 reviews on Amazon, proving that it’s a very popular choice loved by many people.
How Often Should You Clean Bathroom Rugs?
How often you should clean bathroom rugs will depend on the factors below;
Ventilation: Rugs in bathrooms with poor ventilation will trap lots of moisture, which is not dried out, resulting in mildew, pungent smells, and bacteria reactions.
A rug in a low ventilation bathroom needs to be washed at least once a week.
How large is the family: a bathroom rug in a home with too many members, kids, pets, and guests will get dirty faster. Thus, it will need to be washed at least once a week.
If most people shower more than twice a day daily, then you might need to increase the wash and drying frequency to twice a week.
Watch Out For These signs: If you notice stains, discoloration signs, or smells, that is an indication that your bathroom rugs need to be washed.
Can You Put Bathroom Rugs In The Dryer?
Yes, you can if…..
The manufacturer’s wash instructions allow it. Ensure you read the cleaning tips or talk to the manufacturer for specific cleaning dos and don’ts guidelines.
The rug is made from cotton or synthetic fibers then you can wash it in a dryer provided you use cold water and gentle cycles.
No, you cannot if…
The rug is rubber backed you should avoid putting it in the dryer or any other high heat source like an iron box.
The heat from the dryer will melt the rug fibers or cause them to shed.
How To Wash Bathroom Rugs By Hand
Most bathroom rugs are machine washable.
In some cases, like where you have a costly oriental rug, natural rugs like jute or bamboo, and a rubber-backed rug or a plastic rug, that is when you might decide to wash it by hand.
Washing a rug gently by hand is safer and prolongs its lifespan instead of washing it in the machine.
To hand-wash a rug, you shall need laundry detergent, a tub, and rubber gloves.
Put some water in the tub, then add a few drops of the detergent. Mix thoroughly with your gloves on.
Take a sponge or microfiber cloth and start scrubbing gently on the rug. You can use a gentle brush instead. Resist the temptation of over-scrubbing to avoid damaging the fibers.
If the rug is not too dirty, spot clean it instead of washing it entirely directly in water. For example, you recommend using the spot cleaning method for bamboo and plastic rugs since they are highly absorbent, which means they will take too long to dry if you put too much water on them.
Finally, after all stains and dirt are scrubbed away, rinse the rug, and dry it thoroughly to keep away trapped moisture.
HOW TO CLEAN BATHROOM RUGS WITH RUBBER BACKING
How To WASH Bathroom Rugs With Rubber Backing
Step One: Remove Debris and dust
You can achieve this in several ways, like shaking the rug outside.
Alternatively, you can vacuum the rug.
Also, you could sweep debris from the rug using a brush and dustpan.
Step Two: Disinfect & Remove Stains
If the rug has stains, smells, or germs, you soak it in vinegar for around 10 minutes.
Vinegar serves several purposes;
- It softens the fibers making cleaning easy
- It disinfects by removing stains and germs.
- It makes the rug look shinier and brighter
Note: In the place of vinegar, you can use a phenolic disinfectant like Lysol or pine oil.
Step Three: Clean the rug
You can use several methods here like spot cleaning, machine washing, or gently rubbing the rug on your hands if it’s small.
You could also scrub it with a gentle brush them rinse it off with water from a hosepipe.
If the manufacturer’s instructions allow, you can steam clean the rug as long as it is not rubber-backed on colorfast.
Things To Remember When Machine Washing bathroom rugs
Ensure you check out the manufacturer’s instructions for directions on timings and the type of detergent to use.
Cotton, Chenille, Nylon, Polyester, Memory foam, and plastic are examples of rug materials that can be machine washed.
Avoid the use of hot water and bleach. You can use white vinegar instead of bleach for making the rug smell good, using natural oils like tree oil.
Make sure you wash them at low speed to prolong their lifespan.
Step Four: Dry the rug
Read the recommendations below;
How To DRY Bathroom Rugs With Rubber Backing
Air drying the rug outside under the sun while hanging on a chair or fence is the safest way to dry a rubber-backed bathroom rug.
Alternatively, you can tumble it in the dryer without the use of heat for about 20 minutes or less. This will remove excess water, which will speed up the process of drying.
The thing to avoid at all costs is using heat to drying rubber-backed or plastic bathroom rugs.
If the manufacturer’s instructions allow, you can also use a dryer or a utility fan. Remember you must avoid this option if the bathroom rug is rubber-backed.
