Our Honest Ruggable Review: Sure They’re Washable, But Are They The Best Kitchen Runner Rugs?

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by Robin

Today we’re sharing our unbiased and honest Ruggable review. Are Ruggable kitchen rugs worth it? We’ve had one in our kitchen for over two years now, a good length of time to really test and give our critical opinions. I’m also answering some common questions, like if washing Ruggable rugs is actually as easy as it sounds and is Ruggable worth the money.

I had long admired photos of beautiful vintage rugs in kitchens. Kitchens can be so linear and stark and the warmth and softness of a great kitchen runner is just so needed. 

But my practical side, said “how in the world does anyone keep a vintage kitchen rug clean?” Vintage often means delicate and not exactly family or pet-proof. They’re usually natural materials, like wool which absorb and hold onto stains. 

It can’t just be our kitchen floor that gets super messy! We’ve got those loading-the-dishwasher-drips, random food spills and all the pet-based ickiness. (The jaded part of me wants to see what those magazine-worthy kitchen rugs look like in 6 months. I’m guessing GROSS.) 

So I had resigned myself to just leave the floor bare. I wasn’t looking for the stress of babying a rug in the hardest working room in our house. Hard pass.

Then in the summer of 2019, we swapped out our tired old floors on the entire main floor for luxury vinyl planks. (You can see the luxury vinyl plank flooring pros and cons we considered first and our tools and tips for installing vinyl plank flooring).

The new floors looked great! Everyone loved them.

Except for our dog, Indy. He slid around on them like Bambi on ice. And he needed to go through our kitchen to get to our backyard many times a day. Poor guy! And don’t get him started on how hard it was to reach his food and water without having a nervous breakdown. (He is a very anxious soul.)

So I had the excuse I needed to try out a Ruggable washable rug. And now over two years later we can give you our very honest Ruggable review.

Our Ruggable Review Pros:

• They come in two layers. The pretty one and the hardworking one.
  • This clever design is what makes washing Ruggable rugs easy.
• The removable top layer is water and stain resistant.
  • We’ve tested this by constantly spilling stuff on it. We are a clumsy people.
  • The liquids don’t reach the floor – so if you have hardwood it’s protected.
• That pretty layer attaches to a velcro-like underpad that grips. This underpad is non-slip.
  • Even our hyper 90 lb dog running at full tilt hasn’t budged it.
• Deep cleaning is pretty quick.
  • In about two hours you can go from nasty dirty rug to perfectly clean, just in your washing machine and dryer (on low).
  • Great to get your kitchen guest-ready in little time with almost no effort.
• Ruggable rugs are easy to vacuum and spot clean, so you don’t need to machine wash them that often.
  • The minimal thickness means that our robot vacuum can climb it and clean it without any problems.  It hasn’t gotten stuck once. 
• If you ever tire of the pretty top layer, you can just buy that part and keep the same bottom layer. Saves you money on updates!
  • We’ve done this ourselves, we’re doing a main floor makeover and our colours have changed a lot. For a moderate price we changed the look completely.
• Eco-conscious, The company works at being more sustainable.
  • The rug pad is made of 95% recycled materials.
  • Also, Ruggable plants thousands of trees each year of help offset their carbon footprint.

Our Ruggable Review Cons

• They don’t look authentically vintage.
  • The designs are fabulous, but they won’t fool anyone into thinking you found it at an antique market.
  • I can absolutely live with this trade off: a filthy but cool rug is rarely stylish.
• It’s pretty thin. While that great for robot vacuums, it doesn’t feel plush under foot.
  • So while it’s a perfect rug for kitchens and dining rooms, I wouldn’t choose this rug for places where you want to feel cozy, like bedrooms or living rooms.
• When you buy your first Ruggable rug it’s not cheap.
  • I don’t think it’s shockingly expensive, but it’s definitely more costly than an off the shelf rug from a department store.
  • But then you have the underpad, so it’s more affordable if you change the style of rug down the road.

What Does Ruggable Feel Like?

It has a smooth and soft feel, not a plush pile that a true vintage rug would have.

This smooth feel is perfect for under a dining table – chairs can slide in and out without getting stuck in a thick pile. And under a dining table is where you need Ruggable’s easy clean qualities, especially if you have young kids.

Do Ruggable Rugs Smell Bad?

I am very sensitive to smells, especially anything chemical. I get headaches and sometimes migraines from artificial odours especially. I wasn’t bothered by the Ruggable smell. It smells new, but not like rubber or a chemical factory.

If you’re even more hypersensitive than me, you could likely solve the smell issue by hanging the rug and pad outside for a few hours.

Is Ruggable worth the money?

My honest Ruggable review conclusion is that they are great for kitchens and dining rooms, where messes are common, but maybe less so for living rooms or bedrooms.

Below I’ve rounded up some fabulous designs of Ruggable kitchen rugs – the best kitchen runner rugs IMO. Because in the kitchen is where I think Ruggable rugs really shine.

Saving Money Tip!
After you choose the rug of your dreams, be sure to price compare with The Ruggable shop on Amazon.
We did this with both rugs we bought. The first time the best price was on Amazon. The second time the cheapest rug was straight from the Ruggable site.

Steps for Washing Ruggable Rugs

If you’re updating your kitchen, you might be interested in our DIY Kitchen update on a really low budget. We added more storage and style for less.

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