How to Put a Ruggable Together

03/07/202203/07/2022 by Some Small Things In Touch 6 Comments

It took me two years to learn how to put a ruggable together, but I’ve got it now, and I can save you a whole lot of time. I’ll also cover how to wash a ruggable off-label.

In case you’re not familiar, ruggables are machine washable rugs. They are an ingenious option for those who have pets. Ruggables come with a rug pad that’s more or less like velcro, and the rug itself sticks to the pad. You can purchase big rugs, small rugs, runners, shag and plush rugs, and they come in a variety of styles, patterns, and colors.

Washing them is the easy part. The 8×10 chenille rug fits nicely in a medium-sized industrial washer. The instructions say to wash on delicate, but I have washed the rug on hot and heavily soiled for a year now with no visible damage. I’ve used all sorts of detergents from Method to Oxiclean to Wegmans to a European brand. It takes me about 80 minutes on high to get my rug dry; the instructions suggest a delicate cycle, which I disregard.

(From my experience, the plush ruggable (not pictured here) did not wash well. It came out clean and definitely reusable, but it lost its sheen and the fibers clumped together. I washed and dried it on delicate, and I also tried air drying it (which didn’t work well at all). But to be fair to the company, it’s seemingly impossible to make a plush/shag product that washes well. That’s the nature of the fabric. The website now suggests combing the fibers while it’s wet, and I didn’t try that. )

To put a ruggable together is a different story. The first time we tried this out of the box, it involved some mild to medium crying. Rolling the rug according to the instructions was frustrating and time consuming. For the next two years, after washings, we experimented with a new process until we hit the jackpot this morning and assembled the rug in minutes.

Here’s my process:

Instead of rolling the rug, one person should hold on to one corner, pull tightly towards themselves, and press down. While the other person holds on to the opposite vertical corner pulling tightly towards themselves, the first person should walk on the rug. This will smooth the rug on one side.

Then, repeat the process with one of the diagonal corners. The only difference this time is that the first corner is already attached to the pad. So the first person should just walk along the diagonal as the second person pulls the diagonal corner tightly and presses down. Finally, repeat the process with the last corner. Then smooth the rug all over with your feet.

Is it perfect? Not exactly. But almost. And it saves a whole lot of time and frustration. And the few ripples in the rug are good for my soul.

Do you have a ruggable? How do you put it together? Isn’t my cat adorable? 🙂

Thanks for reading! If you liked this how-to post, you might like this one on how to get your missing cash back on Rakuten.