I have never had one of my own. Seeing them elsewhere has convicted me to pass on the idea. They hold water,snag debris that would other wise blow off, harbor bugs between the and the decking.. I hate to be writing all negatives, I can see who it would be a quick fix to an unsightly area. What do you mean by composite deck? It can't be washed/scrubbed up?

I use a huge one my neighbor gave me that he no longer wanted. It was a quality interior one that had gotten some mold on an end. I figured it was good enough for the exterior. We vacuum it a few times a year. It has an attractive pattern and it sure beats walking on hot concrete. Sometimes I wonder if the neighbor didn't think "why didn't I think of putting it outdoors?".

There is paint for composite decking. You might want to investigate that route too.

We power washed the deck last year and it looks a bit better but kind of bleh. I don't know about investing in painting as it needs to be replaced and my experience with paint on horizontal outdoor deck surfaces isn't good. Maybe paint on the composite material is different.

I had one on my deck before we were going to replace it. it was old and splintery.

to be honest, I don't think they are made for decks. I think they are made more for a solid surface patio.

The wood under the rug got worse.

I have a 5'x8' painted wood deck outside the laundry room door. It really needs to be sanded down and repainted, but I have other projects that need to be completed first. I put an outdoor rug down three years ago. It looks great, hides the worst of the ugly and has served me very well. The wind and rain seem to keep the rug clean enough as we almost never use that door.

I have an Azek deck. We have a rug under the table and chairs and really like it. Ours is poly or olefin or something like that. It is a rather open weave so it dries pretty quickly. We roll it up for the winter and take in inside (Minnesota). We blow anything on it off with our leaf blower.

Off on a tangent but how do you like the Azek deck. I've heard it recommended. I'm also in MN and have a couple decks that will need to be replaced in the not too distant future. One is wood and the other is I would guess Trex.

We had one on an outdoor patio at our beach house. When it rained, it got totally soaked and took FOREVER to dry out. Got rid of it before long. We do have one in a screened porch and there it works perfectly.

3Katz,

We LOVE our Azek deck. We have had it for about 4 years now and absolutely love it. We have neighbors who have a similar deck but in a different color and have had it for at least 7 years and they love theirs too. We did add extra support under the deck since we previously had a wood deck and it was well worth it. We have Trex railings and love those too.

Thanks dancing - guess I'll just save my money for a new Azek deck. You all are confirming what I imagined was the case.