Thanks oakleyok and sweeby. I'm just not a braided rug fan. I love rag rugs, but not braided for some reason. Yep we do have scorpions that come in which is no different than any other bug. Not as bad of a problem as at our old house, but I found one sorting our laundry in the middle of the pile I pulled out of the cabinet we use to put dirty stuff in. Luckily I didn't get stung as they hurt a lot and for hours. Also a few others just running around on the floor. I don't want somewhere simple for them to hide that I can't easily see. We only saw 5 this past year, which is a lot better than at my old house where during the summer I usually found one a week, but it could easily change too.

Since you have some extra, try this... Brew a pot of very very strong coffee (try three stregnth) and let it cool. Carefully (with a tiny brush) paint some on your gimp extra and let it dry. A very thin layer (you don't want dripping). See how it "takes". If it rubs off with a cotton cloth, than paint it again and let it dry, then carefully paint with a low sheen finish shellac (very very very thin). It will fix the color if it's not holding. If it holds with the first try, and it's not dark enough, try another layer and another to see how it looks until you're at the "fix" you want. If it immediately beads up and won't take at all, try to thicken up the coffee somewhat and give that a shot. (Follow above directions again to see if it holds). Gimp can be all kinds of materials, but are often polyester based. Some take this treatment well, some don't. (Cotton will take a dye very well). I've done this more times than you can imagine (I make crazy quilts and often don't want a gimp that's too "new" looking) and they hold quite well if you follow the above instructions. The shellac fix if done very thin works just fine. Put some painters tape on both sides of the surface you're working on when you do the actual piece, and try to work with it on it's side as much as possible, but not on the long end (they're not typcially structurally sound enough for that). Experiment on those scraps first!!! And good luck :)

graywings, I gotta tell you, I don't see how you were able to fit a 5 x 7.5 polypropylene rug in your washer, or any washer known to man for that matter. Maybe if I cut it into quarters? Not even then. You know when a few towels or throws can cause the washer to get off balance and rock? This would have caused some catastrophic bomb-worthy event. I washed it yesterday. First I hit it with the jet setting on my hose. I used a lot of water. It wasn't even wet underneath!!!! So more water. Then I used Scrubbing Bubbles (green cap) and an iron brush. Then plenty of rinsing. Finally it was completely saturated. I had planned to put it on 4 sawhorses to dry. That little 5x7.5 rug was so heavy with water that it couldn't be lifted. Not remotely. It had become THE THING!!! I managed to wiggle the flattened sawhorses underneath so it would be slightly elevated off the patio tile. Yesterday was sunny, warm and windy. I figured it was a good day for drying. Hah!! This morning I could tell some water was gone because it was slightly easier to move. I managed to get it on the standing sawhorses and water started seeping out. This is gonna take days. It has to be absolutely pristinely dry before I'll put it on my hardwood floor. Lesson: I will not do this again, at least not with a polypropylene rug that holds water like a sponge. So glad I didn't try this with my 10x13 rug. Ouch!!! After I moved the table and chairs and before I took it outside, I took a Before photo. It actually looked pretty good. I didn't see any dirt or grime come out. I suspect that rug was a lot cleaner than I'd imagined.

My opinion on Ruggable: my daughter bought one 18 mos ago (8x10/light gray). She has baby, toddler, dog and 2 messy, red wine spilling adults (lol) (oh, and sometimes messy me visiting). She has washed that rug countless times, both by spot cleaning and washing machine. It comes out great. I loved the idea of one myself but needed a 9x12 and at time they did not offer it. Now they do (you just have to check to see if your washer accommodates the size) & I bought a cream/white one. I LOVE it. Me and Messy Marvin here + 2 dogs and visiting grandkids, granddog, and messy adults have given my ruggable a workout. Spot cleaning for me has been a breeze-have not had to throw the entire thing in wash yet but I anticipate no problems based upon daughter's experience. (truly just about everything has been spilled, spewed, painted, chalked, thrown on these rugs and no problems washing clean, no staining). In case you are wondering about real life hard workout for this brand.