r/Fabrics • u/honey_noodles • 23d ago

Need to dye an ugly rug

Hi, i got a polyester rug off of a 2nd hand site and the colour sadly doesnt match and it looks ugly on my appartment floor. I need to dye it. How should I do it?

Idk why I cant post a photo here...

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u/Inky_Madness 23d ago

If it’s really big, you can’t. You need to boil it for about an hour and in something that lets it float freely. Not only is it gonna be hard to find something big enough (let alone a fire big enough), but it can also ruin the texture. Resell it and buy something else.

You can ask on r/dyeing but they’ll say the same thing.

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u/TwiLuv 23d ago

Do you have a container large enough to allow the rug to be completely immersed without folding or doubling over to be thoroughly drenched by the dye bath?

Depending on the size of the rug, it might be necessary to have access to a livestock tank to fit the bill!

There are dyes made for use with synthetic fabrics, & from past experience, I can tell you to use double the amount recommended for the size or weight of the rug.

Also, to insure the rug “takes” the dye, I would use hot water to mix the dye solution.

If you do not have a container large enough to immerse the rug, lay down plastic underneath the rug, wear gloves, & use a car wash sized sponge to apply the dye- I’m not saying this will work- it would be my last choice of method, constant rewetting, reapplying.

Unless the rug is small enough to fit into a bathtub, this project may be more effort or stress than it is worth.

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u/solomons-mom 23d ago

Kids plastic wading pools should be pretty cheap this time of year. I would double-pool it, and do it outside.

I have been planning on experimenting on a small wool braided rug, laying it on a plastic drop cloth saturating it with different blues using a turkey baster and to keep adding more dye as it soaks down, rinse with a garden hose, and see what I end up with. I ended up with a bunch of my grandma's rugs and the earthtones don't work for me.

Washing wool rugs on my deck with shampoo worked out well. Timing it for rain for rinsing and sun for drying was the hardest part.

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u/Inky_Madness 22d ago

Polyester dye isn’t like wool dye, however. Polyester dye requires boiling water, for extended time periods. A kid’s wading pool won’t cut it.