Ruggable Update | The Good, Bad & the Ugly
I bought my first Ruggable rug in September 2020, and I wrote a mini review on my Instagram about how I liked it after a couple weeks. Here is a series of updates and reviews after months of usage. It’s a rollercoaster!
ROUND ONE
I started with an 8x10 “Leila Cream Vintage Rug”.
APPLYING the rug to the rug pad reminds me of applying wallpaper. You start from one end and smooth out “bubbles” along the way. It’s not that hard but takes some time. Over the past few months we’ve realized that the best way to do it is to have one person hold it up on one end and slowly lower it as the other person smooths it along from the ground on his/her hands and knees.
*NOTE* The rug is about 3 inches longer than the pad on the longer end, so leave about 1.5 inches of rug overhang on top of the rug pad on that side when you start putting it down. Some people have commented that the edges have lifted up over time but I have not had this problem. The bit of overhang doesn’t bother me. I’ve heard the lifting is a problem particularly with those who use a robot vacuum.
VACUUMING the rug is kind of a pain because the action of pushing and pulling the vacuum leaves wrinkles in the rug, especially by the couch. This drives me absolutely insane. I’ve used a swiffer without the mop pad to smooth over the wrinkles, but since we vacuum almost every day, this has gotten really annoying and time consuming.
WASHING the rug was just as easy as I’d hoped. I have a standard size top loader washing machine and I had no problems washing it. Wash it design side out. Drying took probably an hour and a half because it has to be dried on low, plus it’s so big. I shook it out a couple times to help it dry evenly. It came out a little wrinkled (big wrinkles, not small ones) but it applied back onto the Velcro just fine.
More about WASHING this particular rug pattern:
I washed it about six times in four months. Ideally I don’t want to have to wash it more than every 4-6 weeks. I had to wash this one so much because the background is so light. Too light. Too light for a small home with two adults and two big dogs. Rookie mistake over here!! I regretted this pattern after about a month. Ideally I should have washed it every couple weeks because dirt and stains from normal traffic was already visible. The first couple washes got the stains out just fine. Then I started waiting longer between washes because I was lazy and a little annoyed. This caused the stains to linger even after washing :(
My recommendation? If you are using a Ruggable rug in a high traffic area, or have kids or dogs, choose a darker or busier pattern.
This all being said…I wanted a Ruggable rug to work for me so bad. There were many things working against it but I loved the ability to wash it so much that I decided to try again. Is this the definition of “insane”? When I started looking again I learned that they come in a size 9x12 now which felt like a game-changer because the 8x10 was a little too small for our living room anyway. I found a darker design that I loved (Cambria Sapphire) and bought it in 9x12, held my breath and prayed I wasn’t making a $550 mistake.
ROUND TWO
YOU GUYS! It all clicked this time for some reason.
✔️ One side is still longer than the other but it doesn’t bother me.
✔️ Regular every day traffic stains do not show.
✔️ We haven’t had a single wrinkle or issue vacuuming. This is a strange, beautiful mystery. Maybe they changed the material? It feels the same as the first one. I have thought about this a lot and I am thinking the game changer is using your vacuum on the low setting. I have even washed it several times and still no wrinkles.
FYI the 9x12 needs to be washed a 4.2 cu ft washer which is slightly larger than a standard washing machine. Their website has a washing machine guide. Washing and drying is still super easy!
SUMMARY
Pros:
WASHABLE
Lots of fun designs
Lots of sizes
Easy to remove
Simple process to clean
Color doesn’t fade
Cons:
Rug is not plush. However, they do have a cushioned rug pad for all sizes.
For those that use a robot vacuum, the edges curling up might be an issue, that can likely be solved with rug tape.
Reapplying the rug to the velcro pad takes two people
All in all, I am so glad I gave it another try! Even my husband is much happier with this one overall. July 2022 update: We have had this second Ruggable for over a year and we are still very satisfied.