Choosing a bathroom rug

A bathroom  rug is one of those household accessories that tend to be overlooked or bought as an afterthought. If chosen with more care a bathroom rug will not only add comfort to your home but it can also save your life, because it reduces the risk of slipping in your bathtub or bathroom after a nice shower.  
Rugs are also a great way to add character and style to any bathroom. The right rug will help tie the décor together by defining the space and creating a focal point. And while bath rugs have more of an aesthetic function, they can also serve a practical role depending on their fabric type. 

Types 
Bath rugs come in many different types. Some are made from cotton because of its excellent absorbent qualities while the popular ones are  microfiber. Others prefer wool because apart from being  soft to the touch which evokes  luxurious feeling under one’s feet, it has  superior moisture-absorbing qualities. This ability to dry faster eliminates the worry about mold and mildewand and allows for better airflow. 
Synthetic fabrics such as nylon are popular too because they are naturally stain-resistant. Nylon bath rugs are also durable and resistant to wear and tear, which  makes them a great long-term investment.
Rugs come in different colours enabling decor snthusiasts to easily match them with the rest of the decor. 

Functionality 
Carolyn Busingye, the proprietor of household goods shop, The Duvet Lady, says the best bathroom rug is one that combines all elements; functionality, safety and aesthetics.
  “Many homes have tiled bathrooms and some tiles can get slippery when wet, this is where rugs can help because they soak up up the water , thereby reducing  risks of slipping,” Busingye says. 

When choosing rugs, go for those that are very absorbent in order to discourage mold growth in the bathroom caused by humidity.  The absorbency rate of any rug is really dependent on the material used.  One of materials with  high absorbency qualities is cotton.   
Another great feature that you should look into when buying bathroom rugs is its ability to resist slipping. Make sure your bathroom rug is equipped with a rubber cushion on the bottom side . If it does not have rubber cushion or anti-skid material, then you can place a rubber mat under it to make sure no accidents happen.

Decor
You can buy different coloured rugs that match your home’s colour theme.
“I choose different colour themes for  my house every now and then. I can choose to put grey rugs next to the bath area, under the toilet and under the sink, and have a grey towel, so my bathroom has a grey theme. This can match with my bed linen and curtains if I choose a grey theme for that particular time,” Busingye says.

Maintenance
Busingye recommends soaking rugs in water with detergent for about two hours and gently washing them (not scrubbing). Scrubbing with a brush will only age them. Even the lower part can be gently washed, not scrubbed.
“How often you change your rugs depends on how busy your bathroom is. If you live alone, they may not get dirty so often. That is a different story if you live with children. Here, you might need to change every two days,” she says. 
According to online portal, The Spruce, while allowing a bathroom rug to dry between uses is a very good thing, one should avoid using automatic dryers. The high heat can melt any non-skid backing, and the tumbling action can cause backings to crack. 

Counterfeit
Not everything you find on sale is of good quality and while it is not easy to determine quality before use, there are a few ways you can check your mat’s quality.

 “For fabric mats, you can tell they are not that durable when you pull on the noodle-like thread on the upper side of the and it gets undone,” she says. 

The skid-proof backing should be spread all over the back side of the mat to serve its purpose longer. 

In many counterfeit cases, the skid-proof agent is just scattered on the mat, giving it a short lifespan. To tell that a rug has skid-proof, the back side should feel sticky to touch.